Reversibility
by robbiepoo2341
Summary: After Tokyo, and after Beast Boy saw Terra again, the Titans knew things would be different. But they had no idea how different. As they race to figure out what Slade is planing, Terra is slowly starting to remember her past.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Teen Titans, nor do I own the DC universe. The story is the only thing that is mine, and any resemblance to any other existing story is pure coincidence.

Alright, y'all, I've been sort out of commission for a while, but college has brought up old memories of my fanfic writing days, and I wanted to see if I still had it...

Chapter One

The waves beat a rythm on the shore of their litle island. Slosh, woosh. Slosh, woosh. At least, that was what it sounded like to him.

He had no idea what posessed him to come to this particular place, somewhere that held so many memories for him, painful memories. He knew that he should feel happier. He now commanded the respect of the rest of the team. They saw his potential, they saw his newfound maturity, they saw the way he took on the Brotherhood of Evil -- and won. It was what he wanted for so long, to be seen and recognized as a hero, not the comedic relief of the team.

But how could he enjoy that when he knew what he knew? Because he knew she was Terra, knew it with every fiber of his being, but he could not get her to remember.

And there was something else, too, something that he would have to tell Robin. Slade was back. Of course, they knew that already, since Robin and Slade had worked together to defeat Trigon. But, still, they had not heard from him since Raven defeated her father; they never heard from him while they were fighting the Brotherhood of Evil, either. They had dismissed it, focusing their attention instead on the Brotherhood, and hoping against hope that it was just pure luck that Slade did not bother them when they were so preoccupied.

Of course, there was no such thing as luck where Slade was concerned. Beast Boy knew that, and he knew that Robin knew it, too. Slade was planning something; that had to explain why he had found a Sladebot at the amusement park.

He had investigated the area, of course, but he found nothing, just as he expected. Where Slade was concerned, it was highly unlikely that the man would be found anywhere he had already been. Still, Beast Boy felt it was his job to check, just in case.

It was still too early in the morning to wake up the others. Then again, Robin would probably be up by now, but on the slight chance that he wasn't, Beast Boy was still sitting outside.

He had, of course, conveniently forgotten that it was Robin's week to take out the trash. He turned around when he heard the telltale grunting sounds, and he saw the Boy Wonder lugging two huge trash bags out of the Tower. Those two bags were only the beginning; Beast Boy knew that Robin would probably have to make about five trips to take out all the trash.

It was something that Beast Boy admired about Robin, the way their leader kept up with the other Titans. With any other Titan, it would take maybe two trips at the most to take out the trash. Starfire might have to make a second trip only if she couldn't fit the bags in two handfuls; the alien strength could handle it all. Raven could simply levitate the trash out the door, and Cyborg was strong enough, had big enough arms, to take it out at once. Beast Boy could be a pack mule, a gorilla, anything large enough to carry it all out. But Robin didn't have that advantage.

Maybe it was because it was early, or maybe it was because Beast Boy did not want to have to think about Terra, but he found himself dwelling on that fact: that their leader did not even have any extraordinary powers, like the rest of them. And yet he kept up. More than kept up, really. Robin was the best, the one Beast Boy had looked up to since he first read about him in the papers. The whole idea had intrigued him, of someone else his age fighting crime, and with Batman, no less! Of course, the Doom Patrol were amazing, but Batman...

Well, maybe Robin wouldn't snap at him about Slade if Beast Boy offered him some help first. So, he quietly slipped into the front room, where he could see about six or seven more trash bags, each full to the point of bursting. He changed quickly into a gorilla and scooped up all but one, since Robin would probably want to do something.

Of course, Beast Boy had forgotten one crucial element: Robin's enormous ego. No way was the Boy Wonder going to let him help out with something as simple as taking out the trash. It was _his _responsibility, his problem, and he would address it on his own, thank you very much.

"What are you doing up so early?" Robin asked as he grabbed the remaining trash bag and looked pointedly at the ones in Beast Boy's arms.

The gorilla Beast Boy just shrugged, unable to talk. He started to walk out the door, but Robin said, "I got it, Beast Boy. Why don't you go back to sleep?"

Beast Boy shook his head, then carried the trash bags to the dumpster. Robin followed close behind, slinging the bag over his shoulder where he had enough leverage to actually tip it in. Sometimes, Beast Boy forgot that Robin was only human; it was amazing how something as simple as taking out the trash could bring out that side of the Boy Wonder.

"So," Robin said as Beast Boy morphed back into his human form, "are you going to answer my question?"

Beast Boy was surprised at the easiness in Robin's voice. The change in their relationship with each other was still hard for Beast Boy to comprehend. Ever since Beast Boy proved himself, something had changed in the way his leader treated him. Robin treated him more like an equal and less like a little boy who still needed help growing up. Granted, Robin was a little older than Beast Boy, but the patronizing used to get on his nerves. Now, that aspect of Robin was gone, replaced by something dangerously close to respect, but Beast Boy didn't want to get his hopes up. He had wanted for so long to earn his leader's respect, and now that he might have it, he dared not hope it was true.

"Couldn't sleep," Beast Boy said, though he had to stifle a yawn as he said that. It was strange behavior for him, he knew. If he could help it, he liked to sleep until noon, stay up until midnight, and then repeat the whole process.

"Terra?"

Sometimes, Beast Boy wondered if Robin had some telepathic powers he was hiding from the rest of them. Or maybe it was just because the Boy Wonder noticed everything. He could spot the smallest crack in a rock, or notice if they moved something in the kitchen even an inch from its original place. Surely those powers of observation extended to his teammates. So, Beast Boy nodded, "I tried to talk to her, but she doesn't remember me. I don't think she remembers anything at all."

"She was encased in rock for a long time, Beast Boy," Robin pointed out, putting a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder, surprising him. "I would be worried if there _weren't _any adverse side effects. She'll come around sooner or later, I'm sure."

"That's not the only thing I'm worried about, though," Beast Boy said, taking a deep breath. Here it was, the revelation that he knew would send Robin through the roof. "I didn't want to wake you up. I got home so late, and everyone was sleeping, so I figured I'd wait until you woke up."

Robin could tell that Beast Boy was only trying to stall for time, trying to avoid the question. "Thanks for the concern, Beast Boy, but I'm sure I wouldn't have minded if you woke me up."

And he wouldn't have minded, Beast Boy knew. In fact, Robin would probably be more angry at Beast Boy for keeping Slade's reappearance from him than for waking him up. But then Robin would wake up the others, and they would be mad at him distrubing their sleep. But, now that he thought about it, maybe he should have gone straight to Robin. After all, they were finally building up something like respect, and he was finally an equal in Robin's eyes. Did he really want to throw that all away because he didn't want to bother the others by waking them up? "Yeah, well, I probably should have come to wake you up anyway, but I figured you needed all the sleep you could get after the Brotherhood of Evil fiasco. You know how you don't like to sleep when there's some new problem on the loose." He still had not actually told Robin anything, just made vague references, and that was grinding on the Boy Wonders nerves, he knew.

"Yeah, Starfire says that, too," Robin shrugged easily, appraising Beast Boy with his eyes. Even though Beast Boy could not actually see the Boy Wonder's eyes from behind that mask, he knew they were piercing him, reading his mind -- well, not really, but it felt like that.

Beast Boy squrimed uncomfortably, then said, "Well, Robin, you're not gonna like it at all, so maybe you should sit down or something or --"

"Beast Boy," Robin said, his voice tinged with something close to a growl that held all the warning of an impatient bull.

Taking a deep breath, Beast Boy blurted out, "I went to the amusement park because I was angry, and then I heard his voice behind me and I started fighting him, but it wasn't really him it was one of his robots that looks like him and then I thought I beat him, but I really didn't."

"Who?"

Beast Boy gulped. When it came down to it, maybe he wasn't the best person to tell this to Robin. He was too scared.

"Who?" Robin pressed, his eyes wide behind his mask. Beast Boy knew that Robin had probably figured it out, knew that, even now, the Boy Wonder was formulating a plan to track down Slade, but he was waiting for the confirmation, the one word that would feed the flame and confirm his supicions.

"Slade."

Robin's eyes narrowed, and he stormed off back into the Tower, probably headed straight to his room. Beast Boy groaned, "Great."

He had known that would happen, of course. Whenever Slade was involved, Robin started acting strangely. Not that he blamed the Boy Wonder. After all, being forced to work for someone probably changed his entire perspective. But, still, would it hurt to be normal, even just for a little while?

TTTTTT

Starfire noticed the change in Robin almost immediately, mostly because he hardly looked up when she entered the room. After Tokyo, he had always been excited to see her, had always shot her a small, half-smile that made the inside of her four stomachs turn upside down. But not today.

"Robin, perhaps there is something the matter with the food you consumed yesterday," she offered, hoping to drag him out of his thoughts.

It worked -- or at least, it worked in the sense that it made him look up at her. He seemed to notice her for the first time, and he even managed a small smile, but it was not the kind he usually gave her. Something had changed.

"It's not dinner, Star," Robin said, giving her hand a slight, encouraging squeeze. But there was no kiss on the cheek, no "Good morning, Star!", no indication that he wanted even to be in the same room as her. She had seen him this way before, long ago, back before the Brotherhood of Evil, before Trigon. Back when Slade...

"Something else is troubling you?" she asked, hoping against hope. If it was him, if he had returned, it would tear Robin -- her Robin -- apart. She would lose him to obsession, something she considered totally unfair, since she had only recently 'gotten' him, as Cyborg said.

"He's back, Star. One of his Sladebots attacked Beast Boy. He knows about Terra, too," Robin said quietly. He was washing dishes, but Starfire knew that was only to distract him until the rest of the Titans woke up. In another time, he would have pulled them all out of bed to tell them about Slade, set them all to work looking for clues, and locked himself in his study. But he had matured beyond that, if only a little bit. He would still lock himself in his study, but he would come out occasionally, and he would not wake the others before they wanted to wake up.

Then, she smelled the bacon and eggs, and he realized he _was _going to wake them up. But he would not drag them out of bed, no, he would lure them there with a delicious breakfast. She wondered why she had not smelled it before; surely the rest of the team could smell the aroma all the way down the hallway!

So, he had not changed as much as she thought. But that was just fine; she had fallen in love with him long before Slade came into the picture, and she loved him through all of that nonsense, too. If this was meant to try their relationship, it was not doing a very good job.

"Something smells delicious!" Cyborg shouted as he threw the doors open, a huge grin on his face. He spotted Robin turning off the stove, and he ambled over to his friend's side. "Special occasion?" For some reason, he shot a knowing look Starfire's way. But she shook her head; she and Robin had no reason to start making meals for each other.

"You could say that," Robin said darkly, which stopped Cyborg in his tracks.

Raven floated through the doorway seconds later, a slight smile tugging at the edge of her lips, "Please tell me one of you made breakfast, because I don't think I could put up with tofu eggs and bacon this early in the morning."

"Robin made it," Cyborg said, but without his usual happiness. He kept looking over his shoulder at Robin, worried about his friend.

Beast Boy's head poked out from behind the couch. "Everybody's here?" he squeaked, and he sounded tired.

Robin nodded, "Beast Boy, why don't you tell everyone what you told me this morning?"

TTTTTTT

Her adoptive parents were nice enough, she knew. They were nice enough to take her in, even though she had no idea who she was or where she came from. Maybe it was easier that way, because she did not have the memories of her previous family or anything like that. She knew she had been lucky to be adopted at all. Very few parents adopted anyone older than about eleven years old, at most. To be a teenager and to find a family. . . !

She did not actually know how old she was. Maybe fourteen or fifteen. So, her parents put her in a private high school as a freshman. She made friends easily, something she could not remember ever doing. Not that she remembered anything at all, but something in the pit of her stomach told her that trust was not necessarily a big part of her past. Maybe it was that she did not trust others, or maybe others did not trust her.

But, even though she could not remember anything, she knew, for sure, that she was no superhero. After all, she would probably know if she had the power to -- what was it her parents told her? -- move rocks and stuff like that. Besides, her parents told her that the Terra girl had tried to take over the city, had betrayed the Teen Titans. How could she even think about betraying the people who were keeping her safe?

She did not know much about the city, but she was intrigued by the Titans. Everyone was. Every girl in the school was disappointed when Robin and Starfire were seen holding hands. It made no sense, of course, since they all knew the Boy Wonder would not notice just another citizen in the city, another person to protect. Some girls would purposefully put themselves in danger, run down gang-filled alleyways or something, hoping that he would rescue them and fall in love or something. They all thought he was beautiful, they all had crushes on him. Of course, she secretly thought the whole thing was blown out of proportion. Yes, Robin was cute, even handsome, but she couldn't help but think that Beast Boy would be cute -- if he wasn't green, that is.

That was the only reason the visit from Beast Boy had bothered her. He seemed to like her, and she meant the kind of liking that Robin and Starfire had. And she was the only one of her group of friends that seemed to prefer Beast Boy to the 'obviously superior Boy Wonder', as her friend Chelsea had stated.

But that didn't prove anything, of course. It only proved that she had different tastes in boys. Besides, wouldn't she know if she had superpowers?

Just to test it, though, she looked out the window and concentrated on the ground just below her window. Maybe, just maybe, she could move it.

But, about five minutes into the intense staring contest with the ground, she realized how ridiculous it was. Maybe she looked like Terra, maybe she sounded like her. But she hated anchovies, and she could not move the earth underneath her window.

Well, she had never tried anchovies, so she didn't know if she hated them. But she probably did. They smelled weird.

She sighed and let her head fall back onto her pillow. This was ridiculous. Of course, had she been looking out the window, she might have noticed the slight cracks in the ground where the ground started to raise up. She might have noticed the faint yellow glow that settled in those cracks, then died away. But she was not looking out the window, she was staring intently at the ceiling fan, watching it go around and around. She hoped it would make her tired, like counting sheep, but, unsurprisingly, it only made her dizzy.

Sighing, she turned on the television, hoping to find something to take her mind off of these things. The news was on, and they were saying something about an incident at the amusement park several miles from the city boundaries.

"Officials assure us that the amusement park had been long deserted. No one fixed it up after it was destroyed by a fight between the villain known as Slade and Titan Beast Boy."

Her eyes widened as the camera showed the amusement park in shambles. She had the funniest feeling that she had been there before. But then again, probably every kid in the city had been there. She remembered feeling loved there, probably with a family. Okay, so maybe she wasn't Terra of the Teen Titans, but maybe she could find out who she really was.

And that was when she saw the picture on the news. The robot.

_She stared at the pizza parlor. It had been abandoned. She bit her lip, trying not to think about it. After all, if she thought too much about it, she would remember him. So, she stared straight ahead at the road, but that was painful, too. It looked like an earthquake hit the road; it split down the middle so that it was no longer recognizable as a road._

She shook her head. What was that all about? She knew she had just remembered something, something having to do with a destroyed city. Chelsea told her about when Terra destroyed the city. She could not remember this, but the orphanage keeper told her that they found her wandering around a few months after they finished rebuilding the city. That made it almost nine months from the time Terra destroyed the city til the time she, Alexandra, showed up. Had she lost her memory then?

That had to be it. She was in the way, she was hit in the head, then she wandered around. There was no other explanation for it. Because she certainly wasn't Terra.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline. The characters, setting, and background are not mine.

Sorry it took so long to get back to this. College ate my life.

Chapter 2:

There was something vaguely comforting about the smell of soap.

Maybe it was because Alexandra never felt so clean before. After all, she had been wandering around for some time before the orphanage took her in, and she felt she had been wandering for some time before that.

Either way, every time she took a shower, she could not help but just stand in the water for a while, letting the warmth cascade over her shoulders. It was strangely soothing to wash away all the dirt and grime from the previous day.

It was Monday, the first day of Spring Break. And it was six o'clock in the morning. Her private school required at least twenty hours of service per semester, and sashes were awarded at graduation for more than that. This particular project, for example, was worth fifty hours -- if she could get fifty hours a semester, she would get that gold sash. And she wanted to get that sash, but she did not know why.

Maybe she just wanted to make her parents proud of her. Maybe she wanted to pay the city back for taking her in. She was not sure; she just knew that she wanted to do it.

Besides, she was curious. Absolutely _everyone _in the school wanted to sign up for this particular project, and all for one reason: the mysterious Dick Grayson from Gotham City, who drove to Jump City every Spring Break to help out with the service.

Leah was waiting for Alexandra downstairs after she dried her hair, tapping her foot. Leah had offered to drive some of the younger girls around, and even though Alexandra and Leah were good friends, it was still daunting to drive somewhere with a _senior_.

Chelsea was already in the car, grinning broadly. "Just you wait 'til you meet him, Alex," she beamed. "He's the sweetest guy you'll ever meet, if a bit shy. You'd think a rich kid like that would have been to enough parties to get over his shyness, but hey, I guess not."

Alexandra smiled; she had expected something like this. Chelsea loved to talk about boys, and, for the past two weeks, the topic had changed from Robin of the Teen Titans to Dick Grayson from Gotham City. After Spring Break, of course, Chelsea would go back to her hero-worship. Alexandra, meanwhile, was happy that Chelsea was crushing on someone _normal._

"He drives out here every year because he wants to make a difference. We asked him why he didn't just stay and help out in Gotham -- not that I'm complaining, of course, but we were just curious -- and he said something about everyone knowing him there. He keeps insisting that it's not service unless it's anonymous, and this is the easiest way to keep a low profile."

"Well, I mean, it'd be hard for him to keep a low profile at all. Everyone knows Bruce Wayne, so everyone knows him!" Alexandra laughed. The idea of a rich kid like that _hiding _in plain daylight cracked her up.

"So, whatever you do, don't ask him how things are going back home or what his _mansion _looks like or anything like that. Just appreciate his hotness and smile," Chelsea laughed.

TTTTTT

Beast Boy was absolutely terrified of the chore chart that hung over the living room door. Was it already that time again? Spring cleaning? Already?

He sighed, then looked at the chart on the door. Today, he was supposed to help Starfire sort out the basement. Even with two people, that would take all day! He groaned, throwing his head back. He sometimes thought that Robin specifically made those chore charts so that everyone would be too busy to talk to him. Which was probably right.

Robin always acted weird when spring cleaning came around. He gave himself all the outdoor chores, disappeared all day, and came back inside after dark, completely exhausted. He would not talk to anyone all week, disappearing into his room.

Starfire, of course, had a few theories. It was only natural that Robin's girlfriend would have some idea. But she did not know for sure, she told them. "Perhaps Robin is remembering something in his past life this week and does not wish to be disturbed, and that is why he always disappears."

Raven looked up from doing the dishes -- she had to clean the kitchen, then she would clean the living room and main hallway, and then she had a whole long list of more things to do. She was not actually doing the dishes, necessarily. She more or less sat on the counter with her legs crossed and watched as the floating dishes dipped themselves into the sink, a brush scrubbed them, and the dishes put themselves away. That was why Robin always gave her the biggest list of chores; she could clean quickly and without even moving a muscle. "That makes sense," Raven said, and the dishes paused on their way to the sink, waiting for Raven's concentration to return to them. "I've been in his mind, and I can tell you there are parts of his past too painful for words."

Beast Boy had no idea what that meant, but Raven would not tell him, would not betray Robin's trust, so he just shrugged and grabbed Starfire's hand, grumbling about how Raven could do chores without lifting a finger while he and Starfire had to do everything by hand.

"I hate spring cleaning," he groaned as he flipped the light switch. A few cockroaches scuttled into their respective corners, and he could practically breathe in the dust.

"But it is so nice to live in a tower that is not dirty," Starfire pointed out.

"I guess so, but the idea of working for an entire week straight . . . !"

"We do the cleaning of springtime every year," Starfire reminded him. "And Robin will always give himself the projects that require his presence outdoors, such as gardening or tending to the weeds or fixing his R-cycle." She shrugged, "Maybe he just needs to have the space."

"Has he talked to you at all this week?"

Starfire looked down at the ground, "He never talks to anyone during the cleaning of springtime."

Beast Boy bit his lip, "Sorry, Star."

"It is okay."

"No, it's not okay! You're supposed to be his girlfriend! How are you supposed to do that if he doesn't tell you anything?" Beast Boy knew he had no reason to get mad. But Starfire was the closest thing he had to a best friend. Sure, he and Cyborg played video games together and stuff, but Starfire was different. She actually cared what he wanted to talk about, and she ate his tofu meals! (Then again, Starfire could eat anything, considering how Tamaranean food tasted.)

"Beast Boy, Robin and I have been doing the 'going out' for only a few weeks," Starfire explained patiently. "There are some things he is not prepared to talk about, and I respect that."

"Fine."

"Besides, Friend Beast Boy, do you think there are not some things about me he does not know either?" she asked, smiling.

"What? You? Keeping secrets? No way."

She giggled, "You did not know I was a princess of Tamaran for some time, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"And we did not know about the Doom Patrol, or about Cyborg being a player of the ball of foot, or about Raven's father. We all have our pasts and our secrets. I do not begrudge Robin his."

Beast Boy looked up at Starfire admiringly, wishing he had her patience.

TTTTTTTT

He hadn't gone by the name of "Richard Grayson" for so long, he had to keep reminding himself it was him as he rode the bus to the service project. He also had to remind himself that he was not wearing his mask, so people could read his expressions. That meant he probably shouldn't look so determined and serious. After all, here was a teenager during Spring Break!

He stepped off the bus to see Adam waving frantically at him. He smiled; Adam was always excited about _everything_. He waved back, and before he knew it, Adam was at his side.

"Haven't seen you in forever, Dick!" he shouted, slapping Robin on the back.

"It's been a year, Adam, same as always," he grinned easily. This was fun; he had not been around normal people for a long time.

"Yeah, but it feels like forever. How's Gotham City?"

"Same as always," he shrugged.

"Heroes causing as much damage as they do here?"

Robin bit back a sigh; this was the one part of service he hated. He saw it, of course, the way the city took a beating every time he and the Titans took on a villain. How glass windows shattered, cars were totalled, and the road cracked open. From an ordinary citizen's perspective, it would be easier if the Teen Titans left and took their archnemeses with them. But as long as there were villains in Jump City, the Titans would stay.

Not that the citizens weren't grateful for the protection. They just wished they didn't need it.

"Sometimes more," he grinned. "Doesn't help that Gotham police are idiots."

"Yeah, no kidding," Adam nodded, wide-eyed. Although he did not act like it, Adam knew all about Gotham city and its problems. Adam lived their for a few years, back when his dad moved around trying to find a job.

"But, hey, that's why we're here, right?" Robin grinned. "To clean up after the supervillains."

"And the heroes," Adam added, raising an eyebrow.

"Can't help it," he smirked. "Batgirl's gorgeous."

"True that," Adam nodded fervently. "By the way, Dick. You've got competition. Leah's in love with that Titan, Robin. So she probably won't follow you around this year."

"Imagine that I'm upset," he laughed, rolling up his sleeves. "Let's get down to work."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Same as usual. I own nothing but the storyline. The characters and setting belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 3

"Alexandra, meet Dick Grayson."

She smiled broadly at him, appraising him quietly. Chelsea was right; he was _gorgeous_. And there was something oddly familiar about him, something that she could not quite place, like she had seen him before. Where was he from? Gotham City? Maybe she lived there once. Maybe that was it. Because she recognized him generally, but now that he was closer, she could see his eyes -- bright blue, beautiful eyes -- and they were not familiar at all.

"Nice to meet you," she smiled softly, trying to bring her head back to reality. Which was hard, because she was still trying to figure out why she felt so . . . the closest word was _safe_.

"Same," he grinned broadly. And for some reason, she felt like that grin was so out of place. It stretched across his entire face, wrinkling his blue eyes that were not familiar at all. It did not seem to go with the rest of his face. But Chelsea told her that Dick Grayson was always smiling, always eager to help, so why should she know any different?

"Heard you came all the way out here from Gotham City," she said, trying to start a conversation, but she was just too distracted by those stupid eyes. _They're not supposed to be blue_, she thought. _I always imagined they were green._

She had no idea where "always imagined" came from, since she obviously had not met him before. He would remember her, would say something about how long it had been. Maybe he just reminded her of someone else, someone from the past she still could not remember.

She noticed that he was looking at her with the same kind of look she imagined she was giving him. It was a look of vague recognition, but not enough recognition to put a name with the face. Maybe they went to the same school? Passed each other in the hallway? She had no idea. Besides, he looked like he recognized her better than she recognized him. He almost looked like he knew _exactly _who she was. But then, Chelsea said Dick Grayson was a genius, so maybe that was just his confidence coming out. He was so hard to read.

"Yeah, I come out here every year," he shrugged. "Best way to spend Spring Break, in my opinion."

"You don't go home at all?" she asked, and she wanted to pull the words back into her mouth the moment they were out in the air. What was she doing? "What about your foster father?" _Gah! Stop talking! Chelsea told you not to talk to him about that!_

A shadow passed over the blue-eyes-that-were-supposed-to-be-green-in-her-imagination. "He and I don't talk much," was all he said before he turned to the others with outstretched arms. "So, what are we waiting for? I heard there's a house all ready for us to paint!"

She stared after him as he trotted off to join the other guys, and before she could gather her thoughts, Chelsea and Leah were glaring at her. 'What?"

"I'm pretty sure we _specifically _told you not to talk about Bruce Wayne around him," Leah practically growled.

"Why? What happened? Did they, like, get in a fight or something?"

"As near as we can figure," Chelsea nodded. "Adam says he heard Dick left suddenly, and he hasn't been seen around Gotham since. He's all wrapped up in studying to be . . . well, whatever it is that Dick Grayson studies to be."

She stared over her shoulder at Dick Grayson. Maybe she didn't have different tastes in boys, after all. Because everyone had a crush on Dick, and she was definitely, _definitely _crushing right now.

TTTTTTTT

It was pure self control that kept him from swearing when he saw her.

Of course she would have been with the service party. Beast Boy said she was going to a private school in the area, so of course she would need service hours. But why now? Why right after he finally got up the nerve to make it official with Starfire?

He knew she recognized him, but not enough to say anything. He could see it written all over her face, the way she stared at him like she was trying to put a name to his face. Of course, he could not let the others know that she bothered him, that she was invading his mind. Because then they would start asking questions, and he was not quite sure he could come up with enough legitimate excuses to keep them happy.

But all he could think about was sitting on the couch, grinning at her as she asked him the Question of the Day. Or laughing when she tried to confuse him by coming up with harder questions, then laughing harder when he saw her face when he got the question right anyway. Or talking with her on the rooftop and wondering how she could possibly understand what he was feeling -- and then she understood him anyway.

And then all he could think about was the shock of betrayal. And the understanding that came with it. She understood him, but she understood him because she was the very thing he was trying not to be. She had become his closest friend; he let her into his heart because she understood him. And she betrayed him.

Then there was the quiet of a cave and a stone statue. He could remember coming there to leave flowers, to talk to her. Because she understood him even better now; she walked the same path as him, and she tried to leave, too. He was just luckier than her -- his leaving did not cost him his life.

"What's the matter? Trip from Gotham tire you out?" Adam laughed, holding out a paintbrush.

"Naw, something else," he said. Adam would know if he lied, and besides, they both knew he was _never _tired.

"I'm only going to ask this once, and only because I'm pretty sure it's what's got you so worked up."

He braced himself, ready for the questions. How did he know her? Could he tell them where she came from?

"It's your foster dad, right?"

Relief coursed through his veins; it was the first time he had ever been _relieved _that someone asked him about Bruce. And it was a question he could answer truthfully, "We didn't leave on the best of terms."

"You miss him, huh?"

He blinked; how could Adam know him so well when they only saw each other one week out of every year? Was he really so comfortable in this guise, in this character? Was he really that open? Or was it just because Adam was from Gotham, too? Robin definitely liked the second option, since it meant he wasn't failing entirely in his acting skills. "Yeah. I miss him."

"You should stop by and visit him, then." The way Adam said it, it wasn't actually a suggestion. It was more of a command, but said in such a friendly way that, if Robin didn't want to do it, could be interpreted as just friendly advice.

But, strangely, Robin found himself entertaining the thought. "You know," he mused, "I just might." And it would be good for him. He hadn't seen Bruce in ages, and he knew it was probably past time. People would start to wonder where Dick Grayson went, and they would start to ask questions. Maybe it would do them both some good and avoid even more pressing questions down the road.

Adam grinned, and all thoughts of Terra -- Alexandra -- were banished from his mind. That is, until she walked back into the room to ask for some more paint.

His throat was suddenly very dry, and he could not stop thinking about how skinny she was back then. How, when he tried to put his arm around her, he always stopped because he was scared he would break her. How she looked so fragile to him. She was not like that anymore, thank goodness. He would have died if she kept starving.

He could remember cautiously brushing her arm as he walked by, feeling her shiver. That was as far as they got -- just little encounters like that. He remembered her eyes on him, always on the mask, and the unasked question -- the one question she would never ask him.

He focused only on the task at hand, on painting the room. Pushing everything else out of his mind, he focused on the brush strokes: up, down. Up, down.

"It's not fair," Adam said suddenly.

The voice brought Robin out of his trance-like state, and he only had a few seconds to recover and shoot Adam his best smile, "What's not fair?"

"You're just so _good _at everything," Adam sighed. It was only then that Robin saw that he had painted two walls now, and Adam was only halfway done with his.

"Sorry?" he offered with a smile.

"Hey, if it means we get done early and go out for pizza, I don't have a problem with it," Adam grinned reassuringly. "Besides, that's just who you are."

Robin groaned inwardly. If he was really so good at everything, why couldn't he figure out how to be a good boyfriend? He and Starfire were only just official, and already he was unable to keep his thoughts off of someone else.

Then again, that _someone else _was supposed to be dead, so how was he supposed to prepare for that?

TTTTTTTT

She was not used to seeing him out of his room. Not during Spring Cleaning.

Granted, it _was _midnight. But still.

He was staring up at the ceiling, his hands behind his head. He had not changed out of his "work clothes" -- his jeans and tee shirt. But he was wearing his mask. He was _always _wearing his mask.

But she could not help thinking about the one time he wasn't wearing it. And even though the sunglasses were tinted, she thought she caught a glimpse of eyes. And it was strangely comforting to know that he actually _had _eyes, because she was starting to wonder. . . .

"I apologize for interrupting," she said quietly. "I did not realize you were not in your room, or I would have let you have the space."

He sat up suddenly, as if he had just seen her. But that was impossible; he was always aware of his surroundings, always knew what was going on. Something was bothering him if he did not notice. Maybe at last she would find out what made him so sad during this week out of every year!

But he smiled softly when he saw her. "Oh, hey Star. I didn't think anyone else was up."

But surely he heard the doors open? Why was he so distracted? "Robin, I realize that there are many things you do not wish to tell me," she said, "but I wish to help. What makes you so sad during the cleaning of spring? Cyborg says that the talking helps, and --"

"I'm fine, Star."

"No, you are not fine," she insisted. "You cannot lie to me, Robin. You did not notice me come in, and you have been even more lobstery since you found out about Slade, even more than the usual sadness during the cleaning of spring."

He tilted his head to one side, studying her. Then, suddenly, he swung his legs over the couch and stood close to her. His lips pressed into a thin line, and she noticed that he shifted his weight forward to stand on his toes.

And then he was kissing her.

It was not that she didn't enjoy it -- that was an understatement, of course; she _adored _this feeling -- but she was confused. He had kissed her before. Twice now. Once in Tokyo, and once after their first "official" date. This made three kisses. But he had never kissed her like _this_. He pulled her closer to him almost hungrily, as if he was trying to make sure she was still there, still real.

Then, suddenly, he stopped.

"Robin . . . ." She could not seem to form a complete sentence. Oh, X'Hal, how could he make it so hard for her to think?

He grinned confidently, and some of the sadness that usually followed him around this week disappeared. "All part of my brilliant plan to keep you from asking questions," he teased her.

"It is a very good plan," she admitted, blushing.

He went back to staring at something that was not her, but she was okay with that. He liked to stare at empty spaces to think; that was her Robin. Besides, she was still trying to figure out where her stomachs went.

"You know what, Star?" he asked, suddenly breaking the silence.

"I do not know what."

He smiled at that for some reason -- why should he smile? She answered the question, right? -- and shook his head, "No, I mean . . . . Star?"

He was not actually forming a question, but she knew she should say something. "Yes?"

"Do you think I'm . . . _good _at being your, well, being your boyfriend?"

The question took her by surprise. "Robin, you . . . I . . . ." She was reminded of the cave on a desert planet somewhere. What was it he did when he felt nervous? Tugged at his collar. She tried it, but it did not ease her tension. "Of course you are!" she spluttered. "Why would you ask such a question?"

He sighed, "I don't think I am."

She smiled warmly, "Then you must have more of the practice. We could see a movie, or we could go to a party, or we could do something else that you find enjoyable!"

At least that got him to smile, "You're much better at this than I am."

"I have observed that you are a fast learner," she assured him. It felt so strange _comforting _him, because he was usually so strong, unwilling to show weakness.

He sat down on the couch, then fell over backwards, landing on his back so that he could stare at the ceiling some more. She would never understand what he found so interesting about the tiles, but she decided to try it, too. She sat on the couch like he did, then fell backward. Her lower back hit the couch, but her head connected with the floor. And yet, it was comfortable, with her feet elevated and her body at a forty-five degree angle with the floor.

There was nothing special about the ceiling. She could only see squares.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Teen Titans of the superhero universe in general. In fact, I only own the storyline. That's it.

Chapter 4

The alarm sounded, waking him from his light sleep. He glanced around; yes, he was actually in his bed, and yes, he remembered the mask. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. Maybe trying to fit in spring cleaning, service work, a girlfriend, and hero work was too much. He was starting to worry about forgetting things, things that he shouldn't be forgetting.

Yeah right. Now that he was awake, such thoughts were not allowed. He could handle it. He could always handle it.

Still, he realized he would probably be late to the service project today, depending on who the villain was. His mind worked quickly as he grabbed the cell phone -- not his communicator, but the phone Bruce bought for him. If anyone traced the call, it would go back to his "private school", and it would go back to the phone registered to Bruce Wayne, bought for his foster son's sixteenth birthday. Robin didn't take chances.

"Adam?"

"Dick? Do you realize what time it is?"

"Yeah. Five in the morning." He held the phone up to his ear with one hand while he pulled his uniform on with the other.

"Is there a reason you're calling me, or is this your idea of a prank?"

"I'm going to be late today."

"You know you're going to be late three hours in advance?"

"Yeah. The hotel seems to have mixed up my room. I'm stuck in the honeymoon suite, and it's freaking me out. But the help desk doesn't open until eight tomorrow morning. I'll be there as soon as my room isn't pink anymore."

"Good luck with that," Adam chuckled, and Robin could practically picture the smirk on his friend's face.

"Yeah, no kidding. See ya then."

He hung up the phone, then grabbed his communicator instead. He could make the proper arrangements at the hotel with the communicator; plenty of people there would be more than willing to do the Titans a favor. He ran out into the main area, where the rest of the Titans were already gathered around the computer, looking solemn.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, pretending to yawn and stretch. They wouldn't be too suspect of that, since they were constantly nagging him to get more sleep. He was only confirming their suspicions that way, not revealing anything new. "What did I miss?"

Beast Boy looked up at Robin with wide eyes, "Slade."

He wasn't aware of actually running out of the Tower and to the garage, but apparently, he must have done it, because he was sitting on his R-cycle. The other Titans joined him, with Cyborg and Beast Boy in the T-car and Starfire and Raven taking to the skies.

He could feel the purr of his motorcycle's engine beneath him, and he grinned to himself; as much as he wanted to focus on the mission, he couldn't help enjoying the thrill of speeding across the city at top speeds. "I need coordinates, Cyborg," Robin ordered, snapping back to reality. He could enjoy the ride back.

"Tech company on the edge of town. Your R-cycle should be getting the coordinates now."

Sure enough, Robin could see the information pouring onto his viewscreen, and he glanced at it only briefly as he made the corresponding adjustments. And, while he was at it, he would use the viewscreen to make some arrangements at the hotel.

After he made the arrangements, he raced through the city to the coordinates, trying to figure out why Slade would want to attack this particular company. As far as he could tell, the company was only working on video game and television technologies -- things that teenagers would like, sure, but Slade? This just didn't seem like him.

But when he pulled up to the company, he realized what it was. He should have seen it when he first got the coordinates. But he was so distracted by trying to cover his tracks -- one of the downsides to having a secret identity, he supposed.

But how could he have possibly known?

The company was just across the street from where he and his service group were helping to rebuild a playground.

TTTTTTT

Well, at least Slade wasn't actually there, he reflected. Just a bunch of his Slade-bots.

Beast Boy saw the closest one headed for Raven, but she was distracted by another one -- one that was further away, but had a gun. So, he tranformed into a ram and head-butted the bot into the wall. "You're welcome," he grinned before changing into a mouse to avoid gunfire.

"What does Slade want here?" Cyborg asked as he fired his sonic cannon at one of the robots.

"Yeah," Beast Boy piped up, no longer a mouse. "This is, like, the kind of stuff I'd buy!"

"Since when does Slade steal toys?" Raven asked through gritted teeth as she put up a shield of dark energy to parry a blow from another robot.

Beast Boy looked over at Robin, who had an unreadable expression on his face. Sure, he was hard to read already, since he was always wearing a mask, but the team had learned to see around the mask, to read the other facial signs. But this was an entirely new expression, somewhere between worry, surprise, and disbelief. Or maybe all three.

"Dude, you okay?" Beast Boy asked, but quietly. He knew Robin wouldn't want anyone else to know about his temporary lapse of self-control.

"I'm fine, Beast Boy," Robin said curtly, but it wasn't the usual curtness. Robin was glad Beast Boy noticed -- even if he didn't want to admit it. Because it meant that Beast Boy actually cared about the Boy Wonder's mental state. But Robin would never admit it because of a little thing called pride.

Little thing. Beast Boy snorted at his own thoughts. Yeah, right. Robin's pride was _ginormous_.

Beast Boy looked at the Titans' leader and followed his gaze to the clock hanging on the wall. It was just past five o'clock. Was Robin tired? Beast Boy wouldn't doubt it; the Boy Wonder was always mysteriously absent from the regular, everyday dealings of Titans Tower during spring cleaning. He wouldn't put it past Robin to deprive himself of sleep.

Robin was just generally weird that week out of every year, though. For crying out loud, Robin wore _jeans_ when he went outside to do the gardening! Robin never wore jeans any other time, and he did the gardening all the time. Well, if you could count watering the plants as gardening. Maybe it had something to do with all the grass stains. But Beast Boy had been in Robin's room (he remembered it with a smile and wished he could have at least kept the cape to play with a little longer) and knew that Robin had plenty of uniforms. What was the harm in getting one dirty?

Raven suspected that he actually left the Tower, dressed as a civilian, without the mask and everything. That was something Beast Boy would pay to see, just because it would be so weird to see Robin looking normal. Not that it hadn't happened before -- he was not about to forget the surreal feeling he had in Tokyo when he saw Robin wearing just sunglasses and normal clothes. But then again, he had been a murder suspect, so the mask might have been just a little bit conspicuous. Just a little bit.

Beast Boy didn't know anything about Robin's past. He was pretty sure the guy had a secret identity. (He had one, too, but being green kind of ruined that, as Raven pointed out. He ditched the mask forever ago. But Robin was a normal guy.) Come to think of it, Beast Boy wondered how Robin was keeping up his identity while being a hero at the same time. Wouldn't someone figure it out at some point?

And maybe the guy Robin was in another life had some reason to be sad during this time of every year. Beast Boy had never heard the Boy Wonder talk about his family. Maybe he went to the cemetery to visit them. It was a morbid thought, but probably true. After all, Robin had issues with people trying to be his parents. (He remembered with a smile Robin's reaction to Mother Mae Eye, and with a frown the Boy Wonder's reaction to Slade's 'fatherly' role.) And it would probably be easier for an orphan to become a hero and have a secret identity. After all, what would his mom say if she walked in on him headed off to save the world? Probably ground him for unnecessary danger or something like that.

Beast Boy realized he had been staring off into space for too long when he was hit by some kind of ray from one of the Slade-bots. He went flying backwards and into Raven. He blushed when he realized he was laying on top of her, but she quickly fixed the situation by blasting him away. "Sorry," he muttered, his cheeks still burning. It wasn't that he liked Raven, necessarily, it was just embarassing to find himself on top of a girl. Any girl.

"Try to focus, Beast Boy," she sighed. She was not blushing, because she knew it was an accident. Besides, Raven never blushed. There was some unwritten rule that she couldn't actually make her face do that. If she did, she would stop being Raven. "Just because it's late doesn't mean you can't fight."

Well, at least she only thought he was distracted because he was tired. Which he was. But Robin would have killed him if Beast Boy told her he was worried for their leader. So, he just sighed and jumped back into the foray.

TTTTTTT

Raven could sense Robin's worry from all the way across the room, and she wasn't even trying. Did he know something about this place that the others didn't?

He seemed more determined than usual to end this fight early. She was reminded of the fight with the Slade-bots just before Slade made him his apprentice; he was a blur on the battlefield, leaving little space for the others. But he was tired and worried, and that would make him sloppy. She saw one of the Slade-bots charging up his weapon, and she shouted, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Immediately, the shelf nearest the Slade-bot collapsed on top of it.

"Thanks, Raven," he grinned at her, pausing in his intensity for just a moment.

"You're welcome," she said, unsure of herself. This was not like him at all. He was determined to end this quickly. Not to figure out what Slade wanted, not to go after Slade himself. Just to end it. It was obvious in the way he was fighting.

"My, my, Robin. Anxious to get this over with? I'm not enough of a challenge anymore?" The voice seemed to come from everywhere, and she could not pinpoint it with her powers, either.

Robin's eyes narrowed behind his mask, and he shouted, "I'm just sick of fighting your minions. I'd much rather just cut to the chase and bring you down!"

There, that was the Robin she knew. Raven sighed, glad to see that he was returning to normal -- if that was what you could call it. He just wanted to get to Slade and be done with the warm up.

"Patience, Robin," Slade purred.

Robin gritted his teeth and punched the wall sideways, standing on a heap of what used to be a Slade-bot. "Fan out," he ordered curtly. "Find him."

She raised an eyebrow; he was starting to sound like his old self, not the Robin she had come to know, the one who matured into a man who could face himself at last. This was the Robin who fell into Slade's trap years ago, the Robin who was Red X.

"Is he okay?" Cyborg asked, staring after Robin. He had somehow picked the same isle she did, though, now that she thought about it, she doubted it was an accident.

"He's worried about something, but I don't know what."

"Then Slade's not after the technology here."

She shook her head, "He might be. I don't know. But something about this place means more to Robin than just what they sell."

"Slade must have known that."

"And used it against him."

She heard a slight shuffling sound to her left and whirled around to see a Slade-bot, gun drawn, aiming at Cyborg. Thinking quickly, she put up a shield around herself and Cyborg, lowering it only when she was sure they were safe.

"This'll teach you to take potshots at me!" Cyborg shouted, aiming his sonic cannon. She glanced around the isle for more such enemies; his "boo-yah" informed her that he had taken out the other Slade-bot.

After a few moments of silence as they turned down the next isle, Cyborg whispered, "Think this place has anything to do with the spring cleaning problem?"

She blinked, "Maybe." She had never thought about that, but it made perfect sense. After all, Slade knew exactly how to press all of Robin's buttons.

"When we get back to the Tower, I'll start the Titans' computer on researching this area to see what kind of stuff is going on around here. And maybe what happened in the historical databases. I'm sure we'll find something."

She bit her lip, "Are you sure we should be prying into Robin's personal life?"

"If Slade's messing with it, then, yeah."

She sighed, "I guess that's true."

Cyborg put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see his smiling face, "Hey, Rae. I think it's great that you're trying to protect him, but we've also got to protect him from himself."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Teen Titans or the DC Universe or anything like that. I only own the storyline.

Chapter 5

If only Master Dick could see the place now.

Alfred sighed, placing the newspaper clippings in a neat stack so he could dust the desk more easily. The desk was covered in those clippings -- all about Jump City and the famous Teen Titans, led by Robin.

Master Bruce would never admit it, but he was proud of the boy. And why shouldn't he be? Robin made quite a name for himself, saving the world multiple times. Surely Master Bruce could see how much he had grown -- had grown into a man.

The newspaper on the top had the latest clipping, dating only yesterday: "Titans Still Baffled by Mysterious Reappearance of Supervillain Slade." Alfred frowned; he remembered only too well the struggles Master Dick had with that Slade character. He only hoped more such struggles were not in the future. He allowed himself a few moments of leisure to skim through the article:

"Early this morning, the Teen Titans responded to an alarm at the Unity Electronics retailer on the corner of 1st and Main. They were met by several robots -- termed by the superheroes as "Slade-bots" -- who attempted to distract them while Slade himself infiltrated the video section. Slade escaped the Titans, but reports indicate that they are attempting to track him down and learn what he wanted with simple electronics like those children use in their toys."

Alfred's frown deepened; he had rather hoped the Titans would catch that Slade character. Honestly, a man like that had no business messing with a group of teenagers.

Well, he corrected himself, the Titans were older now. According to Master Dick's letters, Cyborg was approaching twenty -- no longer a teenager -- and the youngest, Beast Boy, was old enough to get a driver's license (although Alfred was quite sure the boy would never get that license, if Master Dick's reports were accurate.)

And Master Dick himself would be eighteen soon. The following weekend, to be exact. Alfred would get him something nice, of course, and perhaps Miss Gordon would send him something as well. Master Bruce might send him a card, if he "remembered." (And by remembered, Alfred meant swallowing his pride long enough to show he still cared.)

As he shuffled around some more papers, an envelope fell onto the floor; it was addressed to him.

Curious, he picked up the letter and opened it. In neat, block handwriting, he read:

Alfred,

I need your help. I've been talking to some people here in Jump City, and apparently, my long absence is causing some problems. People are starting to talk, to wonder what happened between me and Bruce. I'd like to keep questions from being asked. I owe Bruce that much.

I'm coming back for a weekend -- for my eighteenth. I'm not sure if I should surprise Bruce or tell him, though. Shoot me an email or send this letter back -- I don't dare send you an email, since I know Bruce reads those.

If it's going to be a problem, I'll call it off. I just figured I probably owed Bruce on this one.

Thanks,

Dick

A slow smile spread across the butler's face as he finished tidying up the room. As soon as he was done there, he would send an email to an old friend. After all, he wanted to be sure Master Dick received it as soon as possible.

TTTTTT

"You're happier."

Robin grinned, brushing his hair out of his face and wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. He shrugged, "You noticed?"

She nodded, sitting down on the ground next to him. They were standing outside a building with a newly painted foyer. Adam and the others were finishing up with the fence, and then they would move to the next place. "You were pretty . . . I don't know . . . distracted when I first met you."

He shrugged, "Me and Bruce don't always get along. I didn't want to come home, and when I told him so, I was informed of how I wasn't wanted there, anyway." It was a blatant lie, since he and Bruce hadn't actually talked for almost two years now. They _communicated_ via letters and email -- never longer than a few paragraphs apiece.

Alexandra pushed a particularly uncooperative strand of hair back into her ponytail, "Well, I'm not happy anymore."

"You're smiling," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but tomorrow's the last day of the project."

"I know," he said, leaning against the steps as he munched on his sandwich. "I'm going to miss it, too. It's nice, you know, to just go out and lose yourself in something like this."

She was staring at him, and he could feel his face starting to burn, but then he thought of Starfire and cleared his throat, rolling up the napkin and other trash and shooting the ball into the nearest garbage can.

"Two points!" Adam shouted from somewhere across the lawn, but the sun was in his eyes. (Of course, if he was wearing his mask, this wouldn't be a problem, but then he wouldn't be here in the first place, would he?)

He high-fived his friend, then grinned at the other guys as they walked over. "You done?"

"Hey, not so fast, Dick," Greg laughed, holding up his hands. "We're hungry, too, you know."

"You forget who you're talking to," said Tim, one of the twins.

The other twin, Troy, nodded, "Dick Grayson."

"Mr. Speed," said Tim.

"He's only got two switches," said Troy.

They paused, looking at each other, then grinned, "On and off."

He laughed, raising his hands in mock surrender, "Hey, sure. Make fun of the kid from out of town."

"You know it's true, though," Alexandra said, joining in the fun. "You're either eating lunch or doing everyone else's job for them."

"Yeah. We've had to schedule, like, twice as many buildings since you signed up," Adam grinned.

"Of course," Troy said slyly, "it's not just your super speed that helps."

"Yeah," Tim nodded, picking up on his brother's train of thought. "You attract more help."

"More help?" Robin repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Tim nodded pointedly at Alexandra, who blushed furiously. Luckily, though, Chelsea and Leah had arrived -- the calvary to the rescue! "Hey," Leah said, "no picking on Alexandra."

"Yeah," Chelsea nodded. "She hasn't met Dick before."

"That much was obvious," Greg chuckled.

"Yeah. Everyone knows not to talk about Bruce Wayne," Adam smirked.

"I'm glad you all are enjoying my being the butt of your jokes," Robin laughed, stretching out so that his arms were behind his head. This was the most relaxed he had felt in a long, long time.

"Can't help it, Dick," Tim smiled.

"You give us too much material," Troy agreed.

"Super speed . . . "

"Work mode . . . "

"Girls all over you . . . "

"Never talking about your past . . ."

Robin held up his hands, laughing. "Okay, okay, I get it. My fault for wanting to make a difference."

Troy and Tim just grinned, "Whatever, Dick." Then, they ran off to go talk to girls -- that was almost the only thing they ever did.

Adam grabbed him by the arm and pulled him aside, his face a mask of seriousness, even though Robin could tell his friend was bursting at the seams on the inside. "Okay, two things. First, did you ever talk to your foster dad?"

"I thought we weren't going to talk abo-"

"Yeah, yeah," Adam said, waving his hand as if he were swatting at a mosquito. "But did you?"

"I'm thinking about it, yeah."

"That's not an answer and you know it."

Robin rolled his eyes, "Should I get you a bright light to shine in my face while you grab a partner and play 'good cop bad cop'?"

Adam laughed, pretending to crack his knuckles threateningly and putting on his best New York accent, "You know it. And if yous don't tell us what we wants, it ain't gonna be pretty for you."

At that, Robin laughed out loud. "Don't arrest me, officer!" he said in mock fear, pretending to cower in his friend's presence. "I'm innocent, I swear!"

"Tell it to the judge!" Adam declared, then tackled Robin to the ground.

After a brief wrestling match -- one that Robin graciously let his friend win -- the two stood up and brushed themselves off, grinning from ear to ear.

"Can't you just smell the testosterone?" Leah's voice laughed from somewhere nearby, waving at the air as if testosterone was really something you could smell.

"If you two are finished proving your manhood," Alexandra added, her eyes twinkling, "we're about ready to move on to the next project."

"We'll be right there," Adam nodded.

"You better be," Leah said mock-threateningly, wagging her finger at the two of them.

Robin took a step forward, but Adam grabbed his arm, keeping him back. "I told you I had two things to ask you. Second thing: what's going on with you and Alex?"

Robin's eyes widened, "What are you talking about?" His mind started racing; how could he explain this one away?

"Come on, Dick. Tell me you haven't seen the way she looks at you."

"I was a little distracted with the way Chelsea and Leah do that, actually," he chuckled half-heartedly.

"You look back at her, you know."

Robin sighed; there was no fooling an old friend. "She just . . . reminds me of someone I used to know."

"A special lady friend?" Adam asked, the teasing tone finally back in his voice.

"With _all _the benefits," he grinned back, punching his friend lightly on the shoulder.

The answer seemed to satisfy Adam for the time being, and he grinned, "Race you to the next place?"

Robin rolled up his sleeves, "What do I get when I win?"

TTTTTTTT

Robin had expected Beast Boy to take all day to clean his room. And Beast Boy could hardly blame the Boy Wonder; he knew his room was a mess almost every other day of the year. But he'd finished his jobs early the day before, and he figured he'd start on his room. It took him hours, but he did it, and it was totally worth it. Now he had the rest of the day to himself.

Beast Boy whistled as he unwrapped the ice cream he bought from the truck he managed to stop on the corner. It had a Martian's cartoon face on it, with gumballs for the eyes.

It was nice to get out of the Tower for a while; ever since they left for several long months to track down the Brotherhood of Evil, he had come to appreciate the city. Besides, he needed to get reacquainted with all the good pizza places and video stores. Now that their usual stops were gone, he needed a Plan B.

The video store on the corner across from the bank was pretty decent. It had all the best horror movies, but if he wanted something in humor, he needed to check out the place next to the candy store. But today, he was in the mood for something science fiction-y, and he hadn't found a good place for that yet. He was exploring.

He rounded a corner, finishing off the ice cream and throwing the trash into the nearest sidewalk bin. Munching happily on the gum, he almost missed her as he walked past. Almost.

He did a double-take when he saw her, then transformed into a bird, perching on the nearest telephone wire. She was talking to a group of guys. There was a set of twins, a redhead, a blonde, and a guy with black hair. As he watched, she laughed at something the redhead said, and he flew down to land on the fence to get closer.

"You're kidding me!" she laughed.

The guy with black hair was trying very hard not to blush. "Adam!" he admonished his friend.

"Hey, what's the use of living in Gotham if you don't get to tell stories about your friends?"

"Yeah, Dick," said one of the twins. "Loosen up."

The black-haired guy -- apparently Dick -- just shrugged, grinning easily, "I can't help it if I feel sorry for you."

"You?" said the other twin. "You feel sorry for _us_?"

"Yeah," Dick said, leaning against the fence. "I mean, who do you make fun of when I'm gone?"

Terra laughed, her blue eyes squinting up and twinkling at the same time. Beast Boy tried to resist the urge to shout her name, but he remembered that she no longer wanted him in her life, so he managed to restrain himself. "Well, they'll probably go back to making fun of Chelsea and her crush on Robin," she shrugged.

"Robin?" Dick repeated. "The Teen Titan guy?"

"Yeah, can you believe it?" Terra laughed.

"Hey, Dick, it's not like you can poke fun," the guy named Adam said. "Weren't you just saying on Monday that you think Batgirl's hot?"

"_Batgirl_?" Terra repeated, looking llike she would burst out laughing any minute now.

Dick held up his hands, laughing, "Hey, no fair turning back on me!"

Beast Boy narrowed his eyes. Maybe it was just jealousy talking, but there was something familiar about this Dick guy. But he couldn't remember meeting anyone named Dick. He probably just looked like someone he knew.

In fact, he looked a lot like . . . .

But that was impossible. After all, Dick was _laughing _and _telling jokes _and stuff. It was probably just the jealousy talking. It had to be.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Teen Titans or the DC Universe.

Chapter 6

He certainly hoped that whatever secrets he would find out today were worth getting up this early. Four in the morning was _so _not good for him, since it seriously messed with his afternoon nap.

But, sure enough, he heard the slight scrape of a door opening, and he peeked out of his room to see the whoosh of a cape ducking around a corner. Yep, Robin was up. And, from the looks of things, he had _been _up for a while.

Beast Boy waited for a few more minutes before he headed down the hallway towards Robin's room, careful to tranform into a ladybug so he could fly and not let Robin hear his footsteps. He perched on the Boy Wonder's doorframe and waited, since he knew Robin always locked the door behind him.

It might be nothing, he knew. Just because Terra was hanging out with someone who looked like Robin didn't mean it _was _Robin. Besides, Beast Boy was pretty sure Robin would tell him if he saw Terra that often.

He had been planning this since he saw Dick talking to Terra yesterday. He had to know, once and for all, who that guy was and if he was Robin or not. It was probably crazy; there were plenty of guys with black hair and about Robin's height in the city, and Dick didn't have spiky hair, and Dick told jokes and laughed and stuff. But he had ot be sure, because of Robin was hiding something like this -- something like finding Terra and befriending her behind Beast Boy's back -- then he wanted to know.

He came back home after eating his ice cream, then surprised the others by disappearing for several hours (they were even more surprised to find out that he was not actually playing video games or watching television while he was gone.) He checked the chore chart, then got started. It took him all day -- and he lost his day off -- but he finished all the chores for the next day. And even if this turned up as a dead end, he would appreciate having everything done, since this was the last day of spring cleaning, anyway, so he would be done cleaning for another whole year!

Besides, even if Robin stayed in his room all day, he could maybe do some spying and find out what his big indoor project was. Either way, he would solve a mystery. He could either find out if he knew Robin's secret identity, or he could find out the secret behind spring cleaning. Either one would be huge!

He heard footsteps coming back that way, so he slipped back into the shadows, not willing to risk Robin spotting him. He could be sneaky if he wanted to; he just didn't want to very often.

Robin opened the door to his room, and Beast Boy slipped in through the cracks before Robin could close the door the rest of the way. He didn't fly, since the buzzing noise might give him away, but he crawled across the ceiling towards the opposite wall, where Robin's computer was still up and running -- his email was open.

As he watched, Robin retreated into his closet, digging around in the back, beyond the uniforms, until he opened a hidden drawer. He pulled jeans and a tattered tee shirt out of the hidden drawer, then went into the bathroom -- probably either to change or brush his hair, since Robin had some _serious _bedhead.

Beast Boy dropped down from the ceiling and transformed back into his human form as soon as Robin closed the door behind him. He landed neatly in the chair by the computer, then pulled up the link to Robin's email.

Drat. He needed a password to open the email, and, knowing Robin, the password would be something complicated with a bunch of numbers and letters in random sequence and stuff like that. There was _no _way he was getting into the email. He would just have to settle for maybe reading it over Robin's shoulder when he came back.

He felt a little twinge of regret as he thought that. He knew that Robin had only just given Beast Boy his approval, and here he was, breaking that trust by going through his personal life. Was it really any of his business what Robin did or why he was so bothered during spring cleaning? He knew the answer was no, but was that going to stop him from snooping?

Had it stopped him from trying to play with all the animals on Starfire's home world?

Had it stopped him from sneaking into Cyborg's room to use his computer?

Had it stopped him from looking up Raven's birthday or spying on her and Malchior?

Had it stopped him from catching Jinx and Kid Flash kissing in the training room?

Had it stopped him from stopping by Aqualad's room when they were visiting the Titans East?

Had it stopped him from helping himself to some _hot _chili when he just happened to stop by Mas and Menos's room?

Beast Boy smiled to himself; he had to face the fact that he was a sneak and get over it. Anyway, Robin had a new email from yesterday that he hadn't opened yet. Beast Boy had no idea who this Alfred guy was, anyway, so he was curious.

The doorknob clicked as Robin started to turn it, so Beast Boy quickly turned into a fly and flitted away from the light of the computer screen; it was the only light in the room.

Robin was wearing his jeans and tee shirt, and he had a comb in his hand. He tucked the comb into the back pocket of his jeans, then sat down in the chair and opened the email from Alfred.

Beast Boy tried to look over Robin's shoulder, but that meant buzzing by the Boy Wonder's ear, and he had to avoid the swatting hand. He perched on the ceiling to avoid said hand, but that meant he couldn't read the email.

Not that he would have been able to, anyway. Robin closed the email and sighed heavily, "Beast Boy."

Maybe if he just sat there for a while, Robin would think he was just hearing things and go back to reading Alred's email.

"Beast Boy," Robin said more insistently. "What are you doing up?"

Maybe Robin was bluffing. Please, let him be bluffing.

No such luck. Robin stood up on the chair with a rolled-up file in his hands and started taking swings at the little green fly. "Beast Boy!" he growled.

He knew he was caught, so he quickly changed back into his human form to avoid being squished. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked, trying to look cute and innocent, but that never worked with Robin. (It didn't work with the others, either, but he wasn't about to admit that.)

"I don't let bugs in," Robin smirked, but then his face changed back into angry-mode. "What are you doing here?"

"Please don't kill me," Beast Boy pleaded. Of course, Robin wouldn't kill him, since he was a hero and all that, but there was always the off chance. And it wouldn't be hard, either, since Robin was good at hiding things....

"Beast Boy," Robin said, his expression softening just slightly, "I'm not going to kill you." Then, his eyes narrowed, "But I will find a suitable punishment if you don't answer my question."

Before he knew it, the words were pouring out of his mouth, "I got done cleaning early yesterday, so I went out for some ice cream, and I saw Terra with some friends and I decided to see what was going on, so I did and there was this guy there named Dick and he looks just like you and everything but he was laughing and telling jokes so I didn't think it was you but I figured I would do some spying just in case and even if you aren't really that Dick guy then maybe I could find out why you're so grumpy this week and plus I got all my chores done so I'd have a day off anyway but I really think that maybe you're that guy because he looks a lot like you and plus he sounds like you and stuff and who is Alfred?"

"Alfred's an old friend from Gotham," Robin shrugged. (Beast Boy figured that probably made sense, since Robin's alter-ego would probably make friends in the city he and Batman were protecting.) "So, you're telling me you're spying on me because Terra has other friends now?"

"It sounds a lot worse when you say it like that," he muttered, feeling about four inches tall.

Something changed about Robin, and he didn't look so mad at Beast Boy anymore. "Look," he sighed, "there are just some things I can't tell you."

"Yeah, I know."

"And I really mean I _can't _tell you," Robin said. "I mean, if I told you about my life in Gotham, if I told you who I was back then, I wouldn't just be putting myself in danger. I'd be putting Batman in danger, too, because if you knew who I was, you'd know who he was, too."

"Makes sense," Beast Boy said, his eyes wide. He hadn't realized this was all so _serious_.

"But that doesn't mean I can just throw that life away," Robin said, more to himself than to Beast Boy. "It _does _mean there are things I can't tell you."

Feeling two inches tall now (he shrunk when Robin looked at him like that), he turned tail and headed out of Robin's room, with only the thought that he didn't have to do any cleaning today to make him feel better.

TTTTTT

He hadn't really thought about this before, but he realized now that he had nothing to tell Starfire, no way to explain this to her.

Bruce wouldn't want her there, anyway. Bruce was already mad at him for getting emotionally involved with one of his teammates, and bringing her along would only make things worse between them. He was already going into the lion's den; he didn't want to waltz in with a piece of steak taped to his forehead.

He stepped off the bus, patting down his hair one last time just to make sure. As much as he hated to admit it, his encounter with Beast Boy had shaken him. What if the changeling came poking around again and saw him like this? It was a good thing he didn't comb down his hair and take off his mask until he was far enough away from the Tower; if Beast Boy had seen....

No sense crying over spilled milk, though, right? He shrugged off the worry and grinned at Adam, who was already waving him over to join the group.

"You're late, Dick!" Adam said in overenthusiastic, faked surprise.

"We thought the world was going to end!" Troy laughed.

"Yeah, because you're never late," Tim said.

He just shrugged, "I slept in this morning. I guess my alarm clock didn't go off when it was supposed to. It happens to the best of us, right?"

"We thought you weren't going to show or something," Tim said.

"And it was really important that you showed," said Troy.

"Why?"

Suddenly, there was a sound close to an explosion, and he had to resist the urge to jump out of the way. It was a good thing he didn't spring into defense mode, since that would definitely give him away. Besides, it wouldn't have been necessary. It was a surprise party.

"Happy Birthday!" Adam shouted as Alexandra and her friends brought out a huge cake.

"You're a week early," he laughed, but he still appreciated the gesture.

"Yeah, well, we figured it wouldn't be as much fun to celebrate your birthday while you're in school, so we decided to celebrate a little early. You don't mind, do you?" Alexandra asked, looking nervous and desperate for his approval of their little stunt.

He grinned easily, "Hey, guys, this is great. I really appreciate it."

"Oh good!" Alexandra smiled back, then handed him the knife to cut the cake. "You have to have the first piece, of course. Tradition and all that."

"Wait! We have to sing to him first!" Leah protested.

"And then he has to make a wish!" Chelsea agreed.

So, in the most off-tune version of "Happy Birthday" he had ever heard, they serenaded him and lit the eighteen candles on the cake. He grinned happily, glad to have such good friends, even if he only saw them once a year.

When they finished, Alexandra shouted, "Make a wish!"

He smiled, then closed his eyes. _I wish I didn't have to keep secrets from Starfire_, he thought, then blew out the candles in one breath. They all applauded for him, and he took a mock bow, imitating a rock star after a sold-out show.

"Speech!" Adam commanded.

He laughed, holding up his hands, "Hey, hey. Not fair."

"Speech!" The cry went up among his friends, and he finally sighed, giving in to the peer pressure.

Holding the cake-cutting knife like a glass, he stood up and said, "To my friends in Jump City, who make Spring Break amazing every year." Then, he brought the knife down cleanly and cut into the cake, signalling to everyone that it was time to eat.

TTTTTT

The first memory came on Tuesday, the second day of the project. She remembered it when she saw Dick laughing with his friends.

_She could hear laughter coming from somewhere behind the couch, but she kept her eyes tightly closed. After all, they thought she was sleeping. She kept the headphones in her ears, hoping that they would not notice they were not playing anything._

_The laughter slowly died off, and they left the room one by one, presumably to do whatever it was they did in their spare time; she was not quite sure what they would do in such a huge place. She wanted to fit in here, but there was the barrier. The huge, important secret that no one could ever find out because they would not want to be her friend anymore. _

She went home after that and informed her parents that she would be sleeping on the couch that night. Maybe something like that would help to jog her memory. After all, she remembered a couch, and that was about the only distinguishing thing. But when nothing happened, she grabbed a CD player and stuck the headphones in her ears, hoping that would help. It didn't.

The next one came on Thursday, when Adam was telling that ridiculous story about Dick and the way he purposefully ate some strange soup his buddy made in cooking class just to get out of school for an afternoon.

_"I don't want any!"_

_"You must at least try some of my homemade--"_

_"I'm good. I ate already."_

_"But you will find the taste most pleasing."_

_She giggled, snuggling into the strong shoulder to her left. The fabric against her face was soft, and she enjoyed the way his gloved fingers felt against her shoulder. _

_"She's gonna talk him into it," said a high-pitched, young voice that sounded like it wanted to crack but the speaker refused to let it. "She always does."_

So, she went home and made some soup. It didn't work, either.

As far as she could tell, the memories were tied to Dick. Every time she saw him, she remembered something. And she was determined to call him on it. She knew he knew her, knew that he could tell her who she was. And she was not about to take no for an answer.

So, she waited until after the mob of people --who were wishing him a happy birthday and telling him that, now that he was a legal adult, he should do something to celebrate, like maybe buy a lottery ticket or something -- cleared out before she made her move. (He kept insisting that, while he was grateful for the surprise party, he'd rather just get back to business. He looked a little too disappointed when he found out that they hadn't scheduled anything until later that afternoon, so they had a couple hours to kill.)

"So, are you going to tell me who I am or not?"

He raised an eyebrow, then laughed, "Okay. Your name is Alexandra, and you've probably got the weirdest way of starting conversations that I've ever known."

"No, seriously. Who am I?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you know. I just know you do."

He studied her for a moment, then said, "Well, you sort of remind me of a girl I used to know. But you can't be her."

"I can't? How do you know that for sure, R- Dick?"

They both stared at each other for a few minutes, neither one daring to say anything. She bit her lip; she had started to call him Robin, started to remember something, but then she corrected herself. But why would she call him Robin? He lost wrestling matches with Adam, he dropped football passes. He wasn't the Boy Wonder.

But, boy, did he look like him.

But if he _was _Robin, that meant she knew the leader of the Teen Titans personally. But how could that be possible?

Unless she was really that Terra girl. . . .


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own anything related to Teen Titans or anything with the DC universe.

Chapter 7

"Guys, Alex isn't feeling well. Anybody object to my giving her a ride home?" he called out.

She wasn't oblivious to the jealous glances she earned from basically every other female in the work group, nor was she oblivious to the knowing looks that passed between the members of the opposite sex. She closed her eyes and begged her cheeks to, please, not turn red or they would ruin everything. But she felt them burning anyway, and they burned brighter when she looked over at him and saw that he wasn't even close to blushing.

But, then again, if he was . . . _him _. . . then he wouldn't blush.

She couldn't bring herself to say the name again, or even to think it. It was unthinkable. And if it was true, it meant something even more unthinkable. It meant she was Terra, the girl who levelled the city, who gave away the Titans's secrets to the most horrific criminal they had ever faced, who tried to kill them off, who broke Beast Boy's heart, who set off a volcano that could have destroyed the city if she had not sacrificed herself to stop it. That was what it meant, and it couldn't be true. So the other thing, the idea of him being _him_, that was just as impossible.

He put one hand on either one of her shoulders and basically steered her towards the bus stop while her feet moved forward automatically. She was not aware of walking, only that he was pushing her in the right direction.

But then, suddenly, they turned away from the bus stop. The others did not see the turn, and she thought maybe she should cry for help, because, after all, she didn't actually _know_ Dick and there was no telling if he was even one of the good guys (but, then again, if he was _him_, then he was definitely one of the good guys and she was safer with him than with anyone else.) Before her mind could wrap itself around whether or not to scream, though, they took another turn, and now they were definitely lost and no one could hear her anyway.

He finally stopped steering her around, and he put his hands on the opposite shoulders and turned her, straightening out his arms as he did. He held her away from him, studying her face, before he said, "You remembered something."

He should have asked it as a question because he shouldn't have known it was a fact. He should have asked if she remembered, instead of informing her that she had, indeed remembered, as if she didn't already know. "Yes," was all she could manage out of the swirl of confusion in her head.

"And?"

His eyes were bright, and she thought once again that they should have been _green_, not blue. Green like the earth, like peace and not blue like water that people fell into and didn't come back out of, water that turned brown and gurgled as mud clogged it up.

She wasn't aware of falling to her knees, but she felt the pavement underneath her and realized that must have been what happened, because he was squatting down beside her and asking if she was okay. But she was _not _okay, because she fell down and she didn't remember falling, and now all she could think of was brown water and a face -- a surprised face as red eyes disappeared and gave way to purple eyes and then disappeared under the brown water.

"Alex!"

"That's not my name," she said numbly, then looked up to see his surprised expression. His eyebrows went up so far, his mouth opened so wide, that she couldn't imagine he knew who she actually was. He obviously thought she was Alexandra, no one else, and the expression on his face proved it. So there. He wasn't _him, _he was just Dick Grayson from Gotham who was nice enough to help her out in this tough situation and who just happened to look enough like _him _that it helped her remember. Because _he _wouldn't be nearly as surprised.

"Sure it is," he grinned, but his smile faltered as his eyebrows never quite came back down from their confused expression. "You're Alexandra!"

"That's not my name," she repeated. She just stared at the pavement, but when she did, she could only think about the pavement splitting apart, forming a wall between _him _and his friends. She could only think about the sound of rock hitting metal, crashing into it and destroying it and leaving behind only a bare semblance of a car as one of the wheels rolled away.

"Okay, then," he said, helping her to her feet with an expression on his face that told her he thought she was going insane. But she wasn't going insane. She was going _backwards_. "Well, if you're not Alexandra, who are you?"

_My name is Terra, and I have done horrible things_. But she couldn't say it out loud, because that would make it real, would make it official. "And your name isn't Dick Grayson," she blurted out. Well, if she was going to admit to something, she might as well make him admit it, too.

He laughed, "Okay, now I know there's something wrong with you. Let's get you to the hospital, okay? Adam told me you don't remember anything, so maybe whatever made you forget your life is messing with your head now."

She jerked away from his outstretched hand and shook her head vigorously. "Your name isn't Dick Grayson!" she shouted, glaring at him, daring him to tell her she was lying. Plus, she could always just shout louder until someone eventually heard her, and then he'd have to either shut her up by admitting to it or proving that she was really insane.

"Yes it is," he said, his eyebrows still up almost to his neatly-parted bangs. "Well, I mean, I guess my name's technically Richard, but it's the same thing."

Richard. Richard started with an "R." Maybe that's who she'd meant to say.

But, no, she'd been thinking _his _name.

"Then tell me this, Dick Grayson," she snapped, "why do I know you?" She knew she sounded mean and snippity, but she wasn't about to let him get away with lying to her like that!

He raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, "Well, you sort of look like Terra."

What? He wasn't going to admit to being who she knew he was, but he was perfectly willing to throw around his own accusations at her? How was that fair? "Terra?" she repeated -- why did the name taste so much better than when she said it every other time before this?

"In fact, you even sound like her, too," he said, recognition lighting up his eyes. "She was in Gotham for a little bit, and I liked her. She was nice to talk to, and she had some cool stories to tell about travelling around the world, but she didn't ever stay in one place very long."

"You knew Terra?" she asked, her mouth wide open in shock.

"Yeah, of course I did," he grinned easily. "I mean, we were never on a first name basis. She just sort of talked to anybody and everybody if they were nice."

"I don't remember going to Gotham," she said suspiciously.

"So, you _are _Terra?" he asked triumphantly, and, had he been a less mature boy, he probably would have pointed at her and danced in place or something.

"Yeah, just like you're Robin." She was surprised she could actually say the name. It more or less fell out of her mouth without actually meaning to, and there was nothing she could say to take it back now, not after releasing it.

"I'm _who_?" His eyebrows had to be up above his hair now.

"Don't even try it," she said, more confident now, and he knew there was no denying it.

He stared at her for a long time -- too long to be normal. He frowned, and when he did, his entire face scrunched up with the frown, making a frown in his forehead, too. "So," he said slowly, "what all do you remember?"

"Bits and pieces," she said, shaking her head. "I keep seeing flashes of something. At first, the memories were all good, but . . . "

He moved forward awkwardly to put his hand on her shoulder, "That may be why you don't remember. Sometimes, our minds suppress things that are too awful to remember."

She felt cold metal touch her hand, and she looked down, but nothing was there. But there was cold metal in her hand, a disc-shaped metal something with an "R" on it that made a horrific scraping sound as it moved across the table towards a gloved hand that --

"Stop!" she shouted, not willing to remember anything else. Her heartbeat was way too fast, and it jumped into her throat, and she could feel the sweat on her forehead.

He draped her arm over his shoulder, and she could feel her feet moving without actually thinking about moving. "Come on," he said. "Let's get you to the Tower."

TTTTT

There was a bridge that connected the Tower to the mainland for the T-car. And underneath that bridge was a tiny door that opened up to reveal a neatly-folded mask and a can of hair gel.

He sighed as he looked at the mask, knowing it wasn't fair. Terra shouldn't have been the first to know; it should have been Starfire.

He had to tell her.

He felt the cloth touch his face, and, for the first time, he hated it. He hated that Terra knew, because that gave them a bond, and it let him into a part of his life that he kept everyone else out of. It wasn't fair to Starfire, and it made him an awful, horrible boyfriend.

And then he should probably tell Beast Boy, who had all but figured it out until he chased the changeling out of his room. He owed it to the guy, since Terra was, well . . . . Well, he owed it to Beast Boy since he took a swing at him while he was still a fly.

A few minutes later, his hair was spiky, his mask was on, and Terra was still staring at him with the same expression. He couldn't quite place what that expression was, really. It was something between confusion and triumph -- leaning more towards the triumph with each passing second.

"You haven't told them?" she guessed, and he hated the accusing tone that went with the question.

"I haven't told them _yet_," he said, gritting his teeth. Maybe he should tell them all at once. Or maybe, while everyone was fawning over Terra being back, he could take Starfire aside and tell her, and then tell everyone else all at once.

And then he would have to tell Bruce.

Bruce was going to kill him.

You know, he hadn't really thought he would die before he even turned eighteen.

They crossed the bridge slowly, since she seemed to take each step more deliberately as they approached, as if she was not quite ready to face the truth. She probably wasn't.

"Well, there it is," he said, pointing at the Tower. He paused to give her a second to drink it in; when people first came to the Tower, he knew it could sometimes be overwhelming.

"Beast Boy showed it to me before," she shrugged, walking right up to the Tower like it was no big deal.

"Of course he did," he muttered. He wasn't sure if she was referring to Beast Boy giving her a tour as Alex, or Beast Boy giving her a tour as Terra. Maybe both. "Wait," he said, grabbing her shoulder. "Maybe I should go first."

"Tower security?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, maybe you should go first."

He walked up to the door and placed his hand on the scanner. It read his fingerprints, and then the door opened. Remembering his training as a gentleman, he stepped aside to let her through first.

She chuckled, "All those dinner parties?"

"I had to learn _something_."

They stepped into the elevator, and he leaned against the wall, wondering what he could possibly say to them. Somehow, he couldn't quite picture himself walking in and saying, "Hey, guys, just wanted to tell you my secret identity's been working with Terra for the past week."

"You know I won't tell anyone," she said quietly, staring at the wall.

"I know."

She bit her lip, "I mean, I'm good at keeping secrets."

He remembered the laptop, the doubt, the uncertainty he and Raven both felt. He remembered the way he didn't want to investigate her because he was afraid of what he'd find, and he didn't want to be mad at her. "I know."

The elevator doors opened to reveal Beast Boy and Cyborg sitting on the couch playing video games. The clock on the wall said two o'clock; were they really done already? He saw Raven levitating a couple trash bags and heading out the door, but where was Starfire?

"Hey," he said quietly to alert them to his presence.

The trash bags stopped levitating instantly, and Beast Boy lost the video game because he was so distracted. "Terra?" he whispered.

She nodded slowly.

"You found her!" Beast Boy shouted, jumping up and punching the air with his fists. "How'd you do it? I mean, I thought she didn't remember anything!"

"I still don't remember much," she said, and Robin couldn't help but notice that she kept Beast Boy at arm's length. That wasn't like Terra at all; she loved the attention from Beast Boy.

"But you remember enough, right?" Beast Boy asked. He looked crushed.

Robin tiptoed past them (Cyborg had now joined the welcoming party) and sat down on the counter beside Raven. "Think you can help her?" he asked.

"If it's something physical, like a bump on the head or a damaged brain area, probably not," she said, shaking her head. "If it's all mental, then maybe."

He nodded, "Good."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Where'd you find her, anyway? And how do we know we can trust her again?"

"It's a long story," he sighed. "Where's Starfire?"

"Changing the subject on me?" she teased.

"Exactly," he grinned. "Seriously, though, where is she?"

"She took Silkie out for a walk. She should be back any minute now."

So she wasn't there. Good. That gave him some time to prepare, to think about what he was going to say to her. "Well, when she gets here, would you send her my way? I'll be in my room."

"Sure thing," she nodded, but with an unasked question that he felt more than heard through their bond.

TTTTTTT

When she walked through the door, she saw him standing with _the briefcase_.

"Robin?" she asked, looking around. She was not quite sure what was going on; she only knew that Raven told her he wanted to talk to her.

"Hey, Star," he said, and she could not be sure because of the mask, but she knew he was looking down at the ground, not at her.

"Robin, are you doing the feeling well?" she asked, taking a step towards him. If something was wrong, if something had happened when he found Terra -- and she had been sure to administer a hug to their old friend before coming here -- she wanted to know, wanted to fix it somehow.

"I'm fine," he said, but everything in his voice told her he actually was not.

He motioned for her to sit down at the foot of his bed, and she followed his lead. "Robin, if there is something you must say to me . . . " she said hesitantly.

He sighed and opened the briefcase, revealing the contents. "You remember this?"

She nodded, picking up a few of the letters. "It is the briefcase containing all the letters from your home. There are the typed ones signed with the letter 'B' and the ones written with the hand signed with the letter 'A'."

"Do you know what it stands for?"

"You have never told me," she shook her head.

He picked up one of the letters, pointing at the printed 'B.' "The typed ones are from my foster dad," he said slowly. He took a deep breath, then continued, "His name is Bruce. Bruce Wayne."

She scrunched up her nose in concentration, then ventured, "The same man who has some companies here in our city?"

"The very same."

"The very rich man?"

"Yep."

She looked at the letters again, "And he is your father?"

"Foster father."

She raised an eyebrow, "I have not heard that term before."

He looked away from her, dropping the letter back into the briefcase. "A foster father," he said, slowly and carefully, "is someone who takes you in when you don't have any parents."

"Oh." She hesitated before putting a hand on his shoulder, not sure how to comfort him. She knew how it hurt to lose parents, but she had never heard Robin talk about it before, did not know he understood how she felt, too.

He shrugged her hand off, still staring at the letters, "And the 'A' stands for Alfred. He was the butler. He was also one of my best friends growing up." A slow smile spread across his face. "We used to play pranks on Bruce, but Alfred would rat me out every time." The smile grew, "And then I got older and figured out how to pin it on Alfred instead."

She smiled, "He means a lot to you?"

He looked directly at her, "They both do." He stared at the briefcase some more, then said, "Here's the thing, Star. I wish I could have told you this at a better time."

"Why? I do not see --"

He put a hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. "Star, do you remember when Beast Boy used to wear his mask?"

"And Raven told him that he looked the ridiculous?"

He grinned, "Yeah."

"Yes, I remember."

"Well, do you remember what he said after that?"

"He told her that he needed to protect an identity that was secret."

"Right. A secret identity. That's the person Beast Boy was before he was Beast Boy."

She nodded, "I understand."

"Well," he said slowly. "I've got one of those, too."

"I have surmised as much."

He smiled at her, "And, well, I wasn't going to tell you, because I have to protect my identity."

"Why?"

"I've got to keep Batman's identity secret, too."

"Oh, yes," she said, nodding to show that she remembered hearing about his old mentor and former partner.

"But Terra found out."

Starfire felt a twinge of jealousy. Terra knew a secret about Robin -- _her _Robin -- before she did? But, judging from the look on Robin's face, he did not mean for it to happen. "Is that how you found her?"

He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet, then commanded, "Star, close your eyes."

She did as she was told, biting her lip nervously. He was quiet as he stood in front of her, but she could hear the rustle of his cape as he moved. "Robin?"

"Okay, open your eyes."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Teen Titans or anything in the DC Universe.

Chapter 8

He could tell she needed a minute to collect herself, so he said, "My real name is Richard Grayson."

She took an uneasy step towards him, and her hand went up to his face, gently caressing his cheek. He smiled at her as she traced the pattern of his mask around his eyes, then stared directly into them. "Richard Grayson," she repeated slowly. "It is a shame you keep your eyes hidden, Robin," she said. "They are quite beautiful."

He reached up and grabbed her hand, holding it next to his chin for a while before he kissed her fingers and led her over to his closet. "You realize that no one can know about this, right?" he asked as he opened the door.

"I understand the need to keep your identity as Richard Grayson hidden," she nodded. "Beast Boy explained to me the function of identities that are secret."

He slid open a compartment behind the shelf of masks to reveal a framed picture. He took it out and gazed at it for a moment before he handed it to Starfire and took her back to the bed where they could sit and talk for a bit. "These are my parents, Star," he said, staring at the smiling faces. In the picture, he was about ten years old, riding on his father's shoulders while his mother clapped her hands together in delight. "John and Mary Grayson."

She giggled, "You look so happy with them. Where was this taken? It is inside a circus tent, yes? Did they take you to see the circus often?"

He laughed, "You could say that." But then he remembered he was telling her _everything_, so he explained, "I was _part _of the circus, Star. My whole family was." He raised an eyebrow, "How did you know it was a circus tent, anyway?"

"You remember when I went into the future, yes?"

"Of course I do. I'm still loving the idea of Nightwing, by the way."

"Of course you are," she laughed. "But when I went into the future, I saw Beast Boy at a circus."

"Oh, right," he said, remembering that part of the story now. He'd been distracted by the part where he was the only Titan who was still a superhero.

"So, what did your family do in the circus?" she asked, leaning over to put her head on his shoulder while they gazed at the picture together.

He smiled, putting his arm around her shoulder, "They called us the Flying Grayson. We were trapeze artists -- the best there ever were, I might add." He could feel the grin widening as he remembered it.

"It must have been fun," she sighed. "Why did you leave?"

"I had to," he said darkly, and the smile instantly vanished.

She could tell he was upset, because she immediately sat up as her hands flew to her mouth, "Oh, Robin, I am sorry! I had forgotten about the father foster and what that meant!"

The term "father foster" brought a smile back to his face; he could never stay mad when Starfire was around. "It's okay, Star," he shrugged.

"Would it be improper of me to ask what happened?"

He shook his head, staring at his mom and dad in the picture and trying not to think too much about it. "My parents were killed by Tony Zucco -- which was one of the aliases used by a boss in Gotham. He tampered with the ropes before the show because the circus manager wouldn't pay him protection money." He took a deep breath, then continued, "Bruce Wayne took me in, since I couldn't stay at the circus. I was a key witness in the case against Zucco, so I was in danger." He knew he'd skipped over the details, but that was about as much as he was willing to say.

"And you continued to stay with Mister Wayne after that?" Starfire asked, graciously accepting his non-detailed account and moving on.

"Yeah. He took me in, trained me, made me who I am."

"You must be close."

He felt a lump forming in his throat, and he looked away, "No, we're not."

"Why not?"

"We're just not."

Starfire's eyes were wide as she nodded, "Oh, I understand. This is one of those times when it is most complicated for you to explain and you would rather not attempt to."

He laughed, "Yeah. That's basically it."

She patted his arm, "It is fine, Robin. You have explained to me much more than I have expected from you. I understand that your past is full of things that you are not ready to tell me."

He kissed her cheek, "I'm so lucky to have a girlfriend like you."

She giggled, "As I am lucky to have you. I thank you for telling me these things."

"You're welcome," he said, kissing her nose before he gave her a quick peck on the lips. She giggled again, and he grinned.

TTTTTTT

She tried her very hardest not to be jealous when she saw him walking into the living room and holding hands with Starfire. After all, he wasn't just Dick Grayson anymore. He was Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans, and he was Starfire's boyfriend. He was taken. And the fact that he was now wearing his uniform just made it even worse.

Beast Boy hung awkwardly at her side, trying to get her to say something, and she realized too late that he probably told a joke and she missed the punch line because she was too busy feeling jealous. "Sorry, Beast Boy," she said, trying to manage a smile. "I guess this is just a lot to take in."

"Hey, Terra, it's fine," he said, his eyes wide and serious. "I mean, you don't have to go any faster than you want to." She didn't want to know if he was talking about the relationship she was supposed to have with him, or the remembering her past thing. She liked the second option much better, since she wasn't quite sure she even liked Beast Boy, really.

Robin seemed to notice her for the first time since he disappeared into his room, and he waved at her to get her attention. (Not that he needed to try to get her attention, since she was still reeling, trying to make herself not be jealous of Starfire.) "Hey, I called your parents and told them you weren't feeling well, so I took you to the doctor," he said. (Lying came suspiciously easy to him, she thought, but then again, he'd _have _to be a good actor to keep a secret like being Batman's sidekick from the rest of Gotham, right?) "I told them it was probably nothing, and that I'd take you home if it was too serious, but you should be back up on your feet and able to go to the service project closing party if you wanted."

"Are you going?" she asked, ignoring the strange looks from the other Titans. After all, here she was, talking with Robin about his _identity _and what he did when he wasn't Robin, and they didn't even have a clue. (Well, that wasn't entirely true, since Starfire obviously seemed to have a clue; he probably told her forever ago, since they were going out and everything. For some reason, that just made the little green monster inside her grow even bigger.)

"I should go," he said carefully. "I don't want to make an even bigger scene than we already made."

But she understood completely what "I should" meant. It meant he didn't want to, but he would go so the others wouldn't be suspicious. How could he live like this? How could he go around pretending to be two totally separate people all the time? Didn't he ever get mixed up or confused? Did he ever slip up and forget to respond to one of his names?

Beast Boy had been looking from Terra to Robin and back and forth like that for some time now, and his eyes widened as recognition tore through his face. "You _lied _to me!" Beast Boy said, pointing his finger dramatically at Robin.

Raven raised an eyebrow, Cyborg smirked, and Starfire hugged his arm closer to her as Robin sighed heavily. "Look," he said, "I couldn't tell you, Beast Boy. Remember? I explained to you what would happen."

"_She _knows," Beast Boy said, pointing at Terra. (Oh, so she was "she" now? No name? Just someone who happened to know a secret?)

"I swear, beast Boy, I didn't know she was going to be there. And if you don't think it was hard trying to keep her from finding out, you're crazy."

"Would somebody _please _tell me what's going on?" Cyborg asked, throwing his hands in the air. Raven looked like she had basically figured it out but was simply waiting for Robin to confirm her suspicions. Terra wondered if she always looked like that or if that was just how she looked to people who didn't know her very well. (Of course, she realized, she _did _know Raven pretty well, so that didn't make any sense, either.)

"Robin's-that-guy-that-I-told-you-about-that-I-saw-with-Terra!" Beast Boy blurted out, slurring his words into one sentence so that Robin didn't have a chance to butt in and tell everyone himself. Terra smiled; she had to admit that Beast Boy was cute when he did that. Maybe, just maybe, he would be a little fun to hang out with.

Dick -- no, Robin; his name was Robin -- gritted his teeth, his eyes wide behind the mask. "Not here," he whispered quietly, dangerously.

Cyborg looked highly offended that Robin didn't trust his security systems, but obviously the team had been living together long enough for Cyborg to let it roll off his shoulder. "Where, then?" he managed to ask.

Robin motioned with a jerk of his head for them to follow him, so they did. The doors opened automatically, leading down a dim hallwaying lined with windows that she avoided because they were _so _high up. She watched him turn the corner, still holding _her _hand, when suddenly, Raven's hand was on her shoulder, stopping her from going any further.

"Don't pine," Raven said, her face strangely close to Terra's.

"I don't know what you're tlaking about," she said, shrugging off the hand and pushing her way through the hallway.

Raven appeared through the floor exactly in front of her, stopping her again. She smirked, "I know you don't remember everything, Terra, so I'll help you along. First of all, whom I want to talk to you, _you listen._" Terra felt herself shrinking under that gaze. "Second of all, you're two years behind."

"What do you mean?"

Raven looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening before she leaned forward and whispered, "Don't tell Beast Boy. It'll crush him. But two years ago, Terra and Robin had something together. It wasn't anything more than a mutual knowledge that there _was _something between them, but it was still there."

"Okay," she said, cocking one eyebrow, "why are you talking about me in the third person?"

"Because you're not that Terra," Raven said softly. "Robin didn't know it -- or else he just didn't _want _to know it -- but they bonded because they understood each other." She paused, then added, "Because of Slade."

She remembered the cold, metal disc sliding across the table and the hand that picked it up and examined it triumphantly. She tried to remind herself to hate the owner of the disc, not the hand -- the disc, not the hand -- and how could he mess with her head like this?

She shook her head, then looked up at Raven, who was already walking down the hallway. And she understood. Raven had already squashed her little green monster, so of course she would recognize Terra's monster, too.

They walked through the doors into Robin's room. (No one seemed surprised to see them both walk in late; maybe Raven grilled people on a regular basis.) Robin was leaning against his desk, _still _holding Starfire's hand. When he saw her, though, he finally managed to talk to her, "Close the door, please."

She closed the door, taking in the room. It look surprisingly . . . normal. Maybe she expected it to be darker, covered in news clippings and Slade masks and -- no, that was the office. Which was practically his room, since he spent all hist time there, sometimes even sleeping there.

"I didn't want to tell you guys," Robin said slowly, "because I didn't want to put you in danger."

"What are you talking about?" Cyborg asked.

Robin looked to the window -- to the east, towards Gotham. (Maybe he did that on purpose, facing himself back home so he wouldn't forget. It seemed like the kind of thing he'd do.) "Batman and I made a lot of enemies in Gotham," he said. "Enemies that would do anything to bring him down." (She noticed that he said "him" and not "us" and suddenly understood _exactly _why he and Bruce Wayne didn't talk much.)

"And if they thought they could learn who he was, they'd go to any lengths to do it," Raven cut in.

"Exactly," Robin nodded. "And I didn't want to put you in that position." He glanced at Terra, then continued, "But I never planned on an amnesiac former teammate spoiling my plans."

She blushed, "Sorry."

"So," Beast Boy prodded, sensing that she was embarrassed and immediately coming to her rescue, "you real name's Dick?"

"Dick Grayson," he nodded, then paused for a moment to let that sink in.

"Wait a minute. Like, the ward of Bruce Wayne? _The _Bruce Wayne?" Cyborg half-shouted, his arms waving in the air. Beast Boy looked just as surprised.

Raven, on the other hand, just looked thoughtful. "Dick Grayson," she muttered, then looked up at Robin with something like pity in her eyes. "The Flying Graysons?"

Robin looked surprised at that, but he recovered and nodded. "Yep. I was in the circus before I lived with Bruce. It was a good background to have when I started training with Batman." He cocked his head to one side, studying Raven. "The fall?" he asked quietly, sadly.

"I saw it when I went into your mind," she nodded.

Terra knew there was _no _way she knew what those two were talking about, so she decided to jump in, "Dick Grayson comes to Jump City for one week out of every year to help us rebuild the city."

"Terra just happened to be part of my usual service group," he chimed in, obviously grateful for the subject change. So there, Dick Grayson; she could be helpful, too!

"So that's what you do every year for spring cleaning?" Beast Boy asked, his eyes wide.

"I have pictures," she whispered to Beast Boy, and his entire face lit up with a smile.

"Let's see 'em."

She turned on her digital camera, but the screen stayed blank. "Hey, what's the big idea?" she muttered. "I just got this camera a few days ago."

Robin was suddenly at her side, holding his hand out for the camera. She handed it to him, expecting him to fix it. Instead, he opened up the back and started looking through the wires.

Then, he went pale.

TTTTTT

"Interesting."

He picked up the next magazine -- the one with Bruce Wayne at a charity banquet -- and thumbed through it until he reached the desired article. On the left side of the page, there was a picture of Bruce Wayne similar to the one on the cover. A picture of a young man -- about sixteen years old -- with black hair and blue eyes covered the right side. And, stretching across both pages, was the article title: "Family Trouble?"

Yes, this was the article he'd wanted to see. In the table of contents, he'd seen a familiar face next to an inset: "After two years apart, Bruce Wayne and foster son Richard Grayson wil finally be reunited at Grayson's eighteenth birthday party. But what set them at odds with each other in the first place?"

He felt his mouth twitch up into a half-smile. He hated celebrity gossip. But he flipped to the first page of the article anyway:

Bruce Wayne is Gotham's favorite billionaire. His parties, charity events, and strange social habits have always been a source of good material for this magazine. To an outsider, Wayne's life must seem perfect. After all, who wouldn't want all that money, all those parties, all that fame and glory?

But is Bruce Wayne's life really that perfect?

A little over two years ago, this magazine reported on the family problems at Wayne Manor. Wayne's ward, the popular Dick Grayson -- then a handsome, almost-sixteen-year-old -- announced his plans to leave Gotham and attend private school elsewhere. Although both Wayne and Grayson insisted that the move was only meant to help his education, every reporter present could practically see the tension between the two when they were together.

(Here, there was a picture of the interview, where the two men were avoiding looking at each other at all costs. The picture took up half the page, which meant the article continued on to the next page. It was a relatively short article, but the pictures took up the space that matched the money the magazine paid for it.)

In the years following the split, neither one has spoken to the other. Grayson stays in school for the summers -- apparently taking college courses in duel-enrollment -- and goes to friends' houses for the holidays. They haven't had any contact with each other beyond the possibility of phone calls, emails, and letters.

It could be that Grayson was tired of the public life. At one of the most recent social gatherings Grayson attended here in Gotham, he was overheard groaning about the lack of privacy. However, considering his previous time in the circus as a performer, it is not likely that he would be too uncomfortable being in the public eye.

It could have been Grayson's tentative relationship with Gotham's own Barbara Gordon. Miss Gordon was seen at Wayne Manor often, and the two were rumored to be dating before he left. (When asked about this, Miss Gordon has never offered any comment.) This explanation, however, wouldn't explain the tension between Grayson and Bruce Wayne.

The best explanation is simply that Dick Grayson is sick of living in Bruce Wayne's shadow. This reporter has discovered, through much investigation, that, while Dick Grayson is on track to graduate, it is not a high school graduation. By the end of next year, he will have an online business degree, probably in preparation to take his place in Wayne Enterprises. (This reporter will be investigating where Grayson is, if he's not in school, but rather, taking online classes from the school he says he's attending.)

Now, that's the track Bruce Wayne wants for him. But Dick Grayson is interested in making a name for himself in more than business. He has been seen taking interesting trips during Spring Break -- namely, service trips to Jump City to clean up after the Teen Titans there.

This reporter intends to find out what Dick Grayson's _real _plan for his future is when he returns to Gotham for his birthday party.

He put the article aside, stacking it on top of the Jump City magazine speculating about the boy's relationship with Starfire. (He couldn't stay out of the public eye in _either _life, could he?) He smiled; he looked forward to seeing Dick's face when the reporters mobbed him at the birthday party.

He picked up the remote, but the camera still wasn't responding. Of course, he should have realized that Robin would protect his room with technology to keep it from being bugged, technology that would deter people like him from snooping around. Not that it mattered. Planting the camera on the girl had been a good idea anyway.

He had expected the Teen Titans to investigate Terra's return, but he was happily surprised by the success of this particular endeavor. He never thought he would have discovered all he did, never dreamed the boy would be stupid enough to stick around when she clearly recognized him and put his identity in danger.

Slade smiled, leaning back in his chair. The listening device had been out of commission for far too long; they probably found it. Not that it mattered.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Teen Titans or the DC universe.

Chapter 9

"Where's Alex?" Adam asked, glad to see his friend, but worried about him as well. He didn't look good at all. He looked pale and clammy and, well, the only thing to describe it was the phrase "death warmed over," and even that didn't do justice to the way Dick looked.

"She's got a mild case of the flu," Dick shrugged, sitting down beside him and obviously pretending to be happy to be there. "That's what the doc said, anyway."

Adam put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Hey, man, are you okay? I think you might have caught it from her or something. You look horrible."

"I'm fine."

"Jeez, Dick!" Adam sighed, throwing his hands up in the air to illustrate just how absolutely sick of his friend's impossible attitude he was. "You're not a superhero, okay? I mean, yeah sure, you may live in a city with superheros, but pretending to be one isn't going to work on me!"

"I never said I was --"

"You sure act like it. You can't ever be sick, can you? You can't ever take a break. It's just go, go, go with you, isn't it?"

"I just like to be busy."

"You can say that again," he grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Okay. That again," Dick said, a small smile playing at the corner of his face until it finally won over the rest of his mouth and spread into the real thing.

He grinned, too, glad to see that, even sick, his friend retained his sense of humor. "Tell you what," he said. "You're obviously sick. Why don't you head home early? We can run this place without you for the last few hours. It's not that big of a deal."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, no problem," he shrugged. "We're glad to help." But even as he said that, he realized he was passing up a huge opportunity. If Dick left now . . . . "Hey, Dick?" he asked just as his friend started to rise from his table.

"Yeah?"

"You mind if I ask you a question?"

"You already did," Dick smiled warily.

"I mean another one."

"Sure thing, Adam. What do you want to know?"

"How come you lied to me about where you were going to school?"

Dick's eyebrows shot up, and he started to say, "I don't know--"

He threw down the copy of the magazine his mother showed him. Dick wasn't there for the spectacle, so he didn't know about the magazine, either. Apparently, Adam's mother wasn't all that pleased about him working with someone with a mysterious past. ("What if he went and killed someone and now he's in hiding?" his mother had screeched. Of course, he had explained to her that it was a ridiculous idea, since Dick came as himself to service projects, which would give the police ample time to find and arrest him.)

He saw Bruce Wayne's face on the cover, then the article title, and he could surmise the rest. He blew out his breath in frustration, "This is exactly why I left Gotham. Reporters can't stay out of my business."

"Yeah, but it's one thing to lie to reporters. But what about your friends, Dick? Don't we deserve to know the truth?"

Dick sighed; it had obviously been a long day for him, and Adam felt bad for bringing up the issue when his friend was obviously not in any condition to be interrogated, but if Dick left now, Adam might never find out what was going on.

"Well?" he pressed when Dick didn't say anything.

"The article talks about the online business degree, doesn't it?" Dick asked without looking him in the face.

"Yeah, it mentioned that," Adam nodded. "And it also talked about how you already graduated high school forever ago."

"That's what I gathered," Dick said quietly. There was something oddly brooding about his face, a look that didn't belong to Dick Grayson, but to someone else, but Adam didn't quite know who.

"So, what have you been doing all this time if you're not going to school?"

Dick finally looked up from the floor to look Adam in the eyes, "Do you want to know why I come out here to help with service projects every year?"

It wasn't a direct answer to Adam's question, but Dick would get to the answer sooner or later -- he always did this when Adam asked him a personal question. "Okay, why?"

"Remember when I told you about my parents?"

Adam looked down at the ground, a sudden wave of sympathy overtaking him. Of course he remembered. How could he forget? The first time Dick told him about his parents, about the fall, about Tony Zucco, he hadn't been able to look his friend in the eyes for days. It was weird to know something that horrible about a person. "Yeah," he muttered.

"I lived in Gotahm long enough to see the bad in the world, Adam," he said slowly. "And being Bruce Wayne's ward wasn't helpful either. Do you have any idea how many of those ridiculous villains Batman attracted were after Bruce's money? Do you have any idea how many charity balls I attended that they crashes, how many times I was scared to death I'd be held up at gunpoint because I was Bruce Wayne's ward and I had money?"

Adam couldn't think of anything to say to the blazing blue eyes that stared down at him, so he just nodded his head and hoped that was enough.

"Well, after a few years of living like that, I'd had enough. I was sick of watching rich people corrupt themselves with money, sick of seeing mob bosses like Tony Zucco who got away, and sick of watching villains terrorize the city."

"So you left," Adam guessed.

"I wanted to prove to myself that there was still good in the world," Dick nodded. "That I could make a difference."

"This isn't the only week you do service, is it?" Adam asked quietly.

Dick tilted his head, studying his friend, "I've been trying to make a difference for years now, even before I left Gotham." He looked at the ground again, then muttered, "I just don't want anyone to know it's me."

Adam could sense another meaning behind that last bit, but he wasn't about to press his friend. No wonder Dick was into these service projects. That was practically his whole life! "You should head home," he muttered. "Wherever that is."

"I think I will," Dick said with a sad attempt at a smile. He still looked pale. "And Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone else, okay? I'll deal with those stupid reporters on my own."

"Can do," Adam said, watching as Dick left the diner. He'd never been more proud to call someone his friend in his entire life.

TTTTTT

It wasn't that he wasn't grateful to Robin for putting him on this job. It was that he wished that she was as excited about it as he was. After all, back before she lost her memory and everything, he thought they had a connection. She'd asked him on a date and everything! And now she couldn't remember anything, and he strongly suspected that she had a crush on Robin now, not him.

He wasn't stupid. He saw the looks she kept giving him, and Robin didn't even do him the courtesy of looking back so he could be reasonably upset with the guy instead of just jealous of something Robin didn't have any control over. Stupid Boy Wonder.

"It's just a mild case of the flu," she assured her adopted parents one last time. "The doctor says it's just a run-of-the-mill virus, and I should be better by tomorrow, the day after at the latest."

"And this boyfriend of yours paid the doctor?"

Boyfriend. Beast Boy felt a shudder go up his tiny body. (He was a fly.) Did they have to put the name to it? It just made it that much worse.

"He's not my boyfriend, Mom. He's just a friend."

"Honey," said her dad, "when a boy foots the doctor's bill, he's a little more than that."

"No, he's just rich," she shrugged. "And he didn't want me to be embarassed, since I couldn't remember any of my insurance information or anything."

Well, at least she was sticking to the not-my-boyfriend story. That made it hurt just slightly less. But only just slightly. It wasn't fair. First there was Raven and how she just _hung _on him, how he was her _hero _and saved her from herself while Beast Boy was off _distracting Trigon_. And now he had a girlfriend, and Terra was falling all over herself for him, and Beast Boy hadn't even mentioned the stupid _fan club_ yet. What was so special about Robin?

Her mom shrugged, "We'll take your word for it, honey." She gave her husband a pointed look that clearly told him not to push it. (Beast Boy would have been entertained if Terra's dad grilled her about Robin. How much did she really know about him?)

"Thanks," she said, then yawned and stretched. "I think I'm going to turn in early, see if I can nip this thing in the bud."

"Sounds like a good idea," her dad agreed. "After all, we want you to be well enough to go to school on Monday."

"I've got an entire weekend, Dad," she chuckled. "It's not like I'm deathly ill or anything. It's just a virus."

"Yeah, but still," her dad grinned. "Go to sleep, honey. Kick that virus's butt!"

She laughed, turning pink, "Oh, Dad."

"I know, I know," he laughed, holding up his hands in a gesture of defense. "I'm not supposed to try to be cool. I remember."

She just laughed, stepping in close to her parents to give them both hugs, "I love you guys." She said this very quietly, and he saw the worried looks that her parents passed between them, but they decided to ask that question later, when their daughter wasn't sick.

"Love you too, sweetheart," her mom said. "Now, off to bed."

He smiled at the scene below him, and he couldn't help but feeling a little jealous, remembering his own family, and also the Doom Patrol. Sure, the Titans were great, and they were basically his family, but it was different, you know? Parents didn't come by every day, and Beast Boy was almost inclined to just walk out of Terra's life and let her have this, but then he remembered Slade, and he wasn't willing to put her in danger just because he was jealous of her being normal.

Besides, he reminded himself, he _liked _being a superhero. And with something as awesome as superpowers, there had to be drawbacks, right?

She nodded, then headed quickly up the stairs, shutting the door tightly behind her and glanced around. "Beast Boy?" she whispered.

He morphed back into a human, perched on her desk with his knees slightly bent and his head tilted to one side, "I've been here this whole time, just so you know."

She nodded, "I figured. Robin said you had the first watch."

"Raven comes after me, so be prepared. She's not nearly as nice as I am," he chuckled, leaning against the wall with his hands behind his head. This was weird, being in the same room when she knew who she was now. It was like going back in time two years -- except she had amnesia and like Robin, which was totally weird.

"It looks like I owe you an apology," she sighed, sitting on her bed and taking off her shoes, massaging her sore feet.

"For what?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"I was basically a jerk to you earlier when you tried to talk to me," she shrugged. "I'm just worried that I hurt you."

"Hey, Terra, it's fine," he said. He wasn't sure if it would be okay to reach out and grab her hand, so he just put his hand on her shoulder -- which was weird, too. This whole thing was weird. He wanted _his _Terra back, darn it! "I was upset, yeah, but it's not your fault."

She sighed, looking out the window. "It's not my fault," she breathed. "That's the first time something hasn't been my fault, isn't it?"

He blinked, "What are you talking about?"

Her lower lip quivered, and he realized only too late _exactly _what she meant. "I mean, I tried to kill you all. I let Slade-bots into the Tower, and . . . " she trailed off, and instead of her lip, her knees started quivering.

He jumped down from the bed and put his arm around her, letting her bury her face in his shoulder. That was much better, at least. He hated that she was upset, hated that she had so many bad memories running through her head, but he liked that she was crying into _his _shoulder, not Robin's. Not that Robin would probably let her cry into his shoulder, considering how that might look, since he was dating Starfire and everything.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, looking up at him with big, wide, blue eyes. "I'm not a crybaby, I promise."

"You never were, Terra," he said seriously. It was weird, because their faces were so close, and two years ago, he might have tried to kiss her. But so many things were different now, and he wasn't sure if that was allowed.

"I just . . . I don't want to remember, and I think that's why I _don't _remember," she sighed, leaning in closer to him. It wasn't fair, because he knew she didn't like him, so why was she letting his heart beat so fast and why could she still make his face turn brown? (It wasn't red, but red and green, which was brown.)

"Well, if you want to do any remembering, you might want to do it now. I don't think Raven's going to be all that good of a listener, and Cyborg's shoulder is kind of hard and metally."

She smiled, "Metally isn't a word."

"You sound like Robin," he said, sticking his tongue out.

She cocked an eyebrow, "You don't like him?"

He gulped; this was definitely a subject he'd hoped to avoid. "Umm. . . "

She laughed wryly, "Oh, I get it. It's my fault again, isn't it? Can't do anything right."

"That's not true!" he said immediately, defensively.

"Hey, Beast Boy, it's okay. I'm not going to run away or anything," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder to steady him, which was weird, since he was supposed to be comforting her. Was there anything about this whole situation that wasn't weird?

"I mean, me and Robin are friends, okay, but he can be obnoxious sometimes," he sighed. Then he smiled at her, "You and me, we were the perfect team. We made fun of him all the time, played pranks on him, that kind of thing. It's more fun to do to him, since he's all uptight and everything."

"It sounds dangerous, actually."

"We had good hiding places."

"But we could still watch him explode at us," she said, and the tone in her voice told him that she remembered some of their better pranks.

"Like the time we locked him out of his study?" he asked, hoping she remembered.

She did. She winced, "Ooh, yeah, and he was mad at us for 'obstructing justice for our own entertainment'."

He laughed, "Yeah, he did say something like that, didn't he?"

"And then he made us swear not to play any pranks that involved the study or the evidence room or anything related to his obsessive detective work," she giggled.

He wasn't sure how he felt about her remembering things about Robin and not about him, but he was in the memories, so it worked for the time being. He also wasn't sure whether he could put his arm around her shoulder, so he just let her lean against him as they both leaned against the wall. "We were the dynamic duo. He never stood a chance."

She smiled, closing her eyes, "I'm glad I had fun. I just wish I could remember it all."

He wanted to scream at her that she _had _to remember, because then she'd like him, not Robin, but he managed to keep his head, and instead, he just smiled, "Me too, Terra. Me too."

TTTTTT

He put down the magazine article, disgusted. Those reporters wouldn't give him a day's peace, and now they had something else to grapple over, some new thing that they were sure would win them the Pulitzer Prize. He certainly wasn't looking forward to next Saturday.

Of course, it had been a nice surprise to hear Dick was coming. He wouldn't admit it to anyone but Alfred, who knew even if he hadn't told him, but he missed Dick.

But there was _no_ way he'd let Dick know that.

"I had rather hoped that Master Dick's return would be a little less . . . eventful," Alfred said ruefully, seeing the magazine.

Eventful was definitely the word for it. His mind was already running through a thousand different ideas, trying to come up with the best one to explain away the discrepencies in Dick's life story. But the buzzing coming from his desk interrupted his thoughts.

He stared down at the drawer, mildly surprised. The only phone in that drawer had only one contact on it, and it had a bat symbol engraved on the outside. If he was using that phone, it meant he needed to talk in private.

He pulled the drawer open and pressed the "talk" button. "I don't suppose you want to tell me how some reporter managed to poke holes in your cover story, do you?"

_"Yeah, I'm not too worried about that right now."_

He raised an eyebrow, but he recognized the intensity in Robin's voice, so he asked, "And what are you worried about, exactly?"

_"I can't tell you now."_

His eyebrows shot up even higher, "Why not?"

_"It's not safe."_

It had to be serious, then, if they couldn't even talk about it over a secure connection. "What's going on, Robin?"

_"I screwed up. Big time."_

He wasn't sure if he was more surprised by the fact that Robin actually admitted to screwing up or that he had screwed up worse than letting reporters poke holes in his cover story. As he digested that revelation, he could hear the sound of a motorcycle engine in the background. "Robin," he said, leaning forward, "where are you?"

_"About two miles outside of Gotham. I had Cyborg drop me off in the T-ship just outside the city, since I didn't want to make a big scene."_

"You're coming here?"

_"That's why I'm calling. Think Batman could meet me at the city limits?"_

He groaned; they hadn't talked in nearly two years, and now Robin decided to show up, giving orders and expecting favors. But it sounded urgent, so he said, "Okay. I'll see you there."

_"Good. We'll be there in about fifteen minutes."_

"We?"

_"Robin, please be careful not to hit that small kitten on the side of the road."_

"Robin, please don't tell me you're planning on bringing her into the Batcave."

_Click._


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Teen Titans or the DC universe.

Chapter 10

Raven phased into the floor, and Terra turned on her music.

"Honey, are you okay?"

Terra's adopted father stood in the doorway, looking suspicious and even a little protective. No doubt he wondered if there was a boy in the room. (He probably suspected that Dick Grayson kid who had the gall to pay for the doctor's visit.) And, like any good father, he checked the closet for hiding young gentleman callers, under the bed, and, absurdly, out the window, despite her room being on the second floor.

"Whatcha doing, Dad?" Terra asked easily, turning a page in the book that she wasn't actually reading. It was a book Raven brought, and it was one of Raven's favorites, but Terra could read it later if she really wanted.

"I thought I heard voices," her father said, still looking suspiciously around the room. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"Dad, how am I supposed to have anyone over when I'm on the brink of death?" she chuckled, swooning dramatically to prove her point.

He smiled and laughed easily, "There's no harm in making sure. I'm your father; that's my job."

"Thanks for doing your job, Dad," she sighed, her eyes on the book. Raven wasn't sure if that was a good idea, since the book was hard to follow in the middle, but then she remembered that Terra wasn't actually reading, and it was okay. One of these days, Raven would lend the book to Terra so she could actually read it all the way through instead of just using it as an excuse to keep her father at bay.

She envied Terra, and she wasn't afraid to admit it. After all, Terra found herself a family and a real _father_, someone who inspected her room for boys and cared about her social life and that sort of thing. But Raven quickly squashed those feelings, since it wasn't fair to Terra. After all, could she help the amnesia? Could she help that they stuck her in an orphanage?

"How come you're not asleep?" her father asked.

"Because I can't breathe," Terra shrugged. "I took some medicine earlier and I'm waiting for it to kick in."

"Oh," her father nodded. "Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know."

"Yes, sir," Terra nodded.

"Love you."

"Love you too, Dad."

"Good night."

"You can come out now," Terra whispered after the door closed behind her father.

Raven phased back out of the floor, letting her soul self collapse in around her slowly to give the full effect of the magic. After all, Terra couldn't remember everything, and it was always a good idea to give her a little show of power to remind her of her place.

"Sorry about my dad," Terra whispered, so quietly that even the soft music nearly drowned her out. "He's convinced that I'm secretly dating Dick Grayson just because he paid the hospital bill."

"Yeah, I figured that one out for myself, thanks," Raven smirked, then sat down on the bed next to Terra, leaning her head up against the wall. "It's too early for healthy people to go to sleep. Want something to pass the time?"

Terra tilted her head at an angle that made all her hair fall across her face except for the few strands she kept tucked behind her ears, "Where did that come from?"

Raven raised one eyebrow, "Where did what come from?"

"Beast Boy said--"

Raven held up a hand to stop whatever Terra was going to say, smiling. "Beast Boy," she said, slowly and carefully, "hasn't quite wrapped his head around the idea that I can be nice."

"He said you weren't a good listener."

"And did you spill your guts to him after he said that?"

Terra blushed, looking at the floor, "A little bit."

"That was his plan. He doesn't let on, but he's a tricky little manipulator. What did you say?"

The floor must have been really interesting. "I told him about Slade. About how he hurt me."

Raven waited patiently for Terra to continue, knowing there was more to that story. Gently, in a completely not-prying voice, she pressed, "And?"

Terra shook her head, still entranced by the floor. "I just . . . I only remember bits and pieces. I don't _want _to remember, because every time I do . . . And all I can think about is a jagged rock pointed at Beast Boy and . . . ."

Raven waited for her to pick back up, but she never did. But she could sense that Terra was ashamed of the memory, so she did the only thing she could think of: she put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Look, Terra, remembering isn't the hardest part, you know."

"It's not?"

"The hardest part is learning to live with the things you remember," Raven nodded.

"How can you know that?" Terra asked, wringing her hands. "I mean, how can you know everything will be okay? It's not like you watched him die and thought you were responsible and--"

"Him?" Raven repeated, and then she understood. She turned Terra to face her, staring directly into her eyes, "Every time I see you, I see glimpses of something round on a metal table. What is it?" Raven knew that it was related to Terra's shame, and she thought she knew the answer, but she had to be absolutely sure.

"It has an 'R' on it," Terra said miserably. "And I know you told me not to pine, and I know I'm a horrible person and I'm breaking Beast Boy's heart and I'm sure if I could remember everything, things would be different, because apparently I asked Beast Boy on a date and everything, so there must have been something there, but all I can do is pine when you told me not to and think about the memory that I don't ever want to finish and I can't get out of my head --"

Raven held out her hand to stop the run-on. When she looked closer at Terra, she could see tears in her eyes, tears that were just waiting to fall but were afraid to because she wasn't with Beast Boy. And, even though it really, really wasn't Raven's style to do this kind of thing, she knew it was probably the right thing to do and Starfire wasn't here to do it. So, she pulled Terra in close for a hug and tried not to think about how wet her cloak would feel when she put the hood back on.

"How do you know?" Terra managed to choke out after she'd finished the worst of her cry. She kept sniffling and dabbing at her eyes every once in a while, her eyes puffy and red, but it looked like, just maybe, she might be okay for now.

"How do I know what?" Raven asked patiently. It was just like the Terra she remembered to ask vague questions like that, without referring to anything Raven could really latch on to. It was easier to talk to Robin, because he was direct and said exactly what he wanted from a conversation. But Terra wasn't Robin, and hadn't she just been giving advice not to pine? She really didn't want to be a hypocrite.

"How do you know what the hardest part is? How can you possibly know how I feel?"

Because she went through the same thing, because she had to have Robin tell her about her old life and remind her of her powers, because she had amnesia and thought she lost her powers, too. But Terra couldn't know these things, not so soon, maybe not for years. Raven hadn't even told her friends until it was absolutely necessary, and besides, Terra really didn't need to know in the first place. Her problems with Trigon were personal, and Terra wasn't technically a Titan anymore. It was need-to-know information. So, Raven went the easy way out. "Terra," she said with a rare smile, "I'm an empath. I know how everyone feels."

"Right, I forgot," Terra mumbled, staring at the floor. "I'm not so good with the details."

"You used to be," Raven smiled, trying to figure out how to steer Terra away from the conversation and away from anything that might lead to talk of Trigon. "When we first met you, we didn't even have to introduce ourselves. You knew all of our names, some of the villains we defeated, and that kind of thing."

"I guess I'm not the same person I was back then," Terra shrugged.

"No, you're not," Raven said bluntly, which surprised Terra, obviously. "You're more concerned with how other people feel than how you feel, and that's something the Terra I knew was never good at."

"I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or an insult."

"Split the difference and consider it both."

"That doesn't make me feel better at all; you know that?"

Raven just smirked, "But that's not why you're no good at details. You're not remembering things that are connected to Slade because those memories are too painful. And one of the worst memories, I think, is when you sent him information about us -- our strengths, our weaknesses." The shock of remorse running through Terra's body confirmed Raven's suspicions.

"I wish I could just remember everything at once and be done for it," Terra sighed, frustrated. "I don't like that my head is blocking out the good stuff with the bad stuff. Why is it doing that?"

"Because every time you had fun with us, you were also analyzing us, which was a bad thing. Every time you hung out with Beast Boy, you were afraid to lose him. It's simple, Terra. When you were working for Slade, nothing was truly fun anymore. Everything had a darker twist to it."

Terra cocked her head at that funny angle again, then muttered, "You know something, Raven?"

"What?"

"Beast Boy was wrong."

Raven just chuckled dryly, "He's wrong about a lot of things. Which thing is he wrong about this time?"

"You can be a good listener if you really want to," Terra said simply.

Raven smiled.

TTTTTTTTT

The security perimeter around the Tower was a challenge, to be sure, and he always relished the thought of a fresh challenge, but some of the enjoyment drained out of it when he knew he wasn't the only cause. (He reminded himself, of course, that he had still been getting used to his new body and recovering from his encounter with Trigon -- finding a new lair, rebuilding half of his robots, that sort of thing -- while the Titans took on the Brotherhood of Evil. He'd left them alone for too long, so he couldn't expect them to only fear him. Soon, though, he would scramble back to his top spot on their list of most hated villains -- he rather enjoyed that honor.)

It was a problem, because he couldn't quite tap into the communications. It had been relatively easy before -- a simple adjustment of the communicator he still had from Robin's time as his apprentice. He hadn't been able to hear much, just bits and pieces, but he could pinpoint locations, draw them out. But with their problems with the Brotherhood of Evil, they had learned to keep better care of such easily tracked devices.

He was honestly quite surprised at their general lack of care with such things; Robin had been trained by Batman, hadn't he? How could he let the Brotherhood of Evil tap into their communications? Hadn't the Dark Knight taught him the uncompromising importance of security? And besides, didn't Robin know that any good military mind -- General Immortus included -- tampered with communications before any strike? It was a general rule, one strictly adhered to. Robin was going soft, and Slade was surprised to find himself disappointed by that fact.

He sat before the viewer screens, watching the silent Tower. It was just after dinnertime for them -- although, he was sure, they weren't done eating yet. There was usually ice cream or some form of chocolate involved after the actual meal. But he didn't expect to see anything there, not unless there was a robbery in progress -- which there was about to be. He was watching Terra's house, too, where the Titans were taking turns watching over her.

He hadn't been able to take the chance of placing any cameras in the actual area, since he knew they would make a clean sweep to make sure he didn't do just that. (Robin, especially, would be able to find them, and then what good would have come of all the money he invested in those cameras?)

Not that the alternative to cameras was any better. Sending his robots out to do spy work wasn't necessarily smart, but he couldn't do it himself and coordinate everything behind the scenes at the same time. The problem was: the robots didn't have any imagination, and they weren't exactly experts at being stealthy. As a matter of fact, they just weren't stealthy at all. It was the advantage of an apprentice -- he could send them out to do it and count on them to actually hide.

Of course, Terra hadn't been incredibly sneaky, either. Robin was definitely better at stealth, while Terra was just good for destroying things and bringing a city to its knees -- a good asset to have, but horrible in a jam with her skills limited like that.

The final screen showed a nice little mine shaft, something relatively easy to hit yet vital to the city. He'd sent out a good hundred robots -- another disadvantage of the nonhuman minions was that they couldn't think of their feet, and as a result, even if only one or two of them returned, the mission was a success so long as the job got done. This way, he'd draw the Titans out, make them show their faces. After they discovered his listening device, he was interested to see how Robin would react, but they hadn't come out of hiding yet, besides the regular changing of the guard at Terra's palce.

Slade was surprised that Robin hadn't taken the first watch -- but then again, the boy might know what Slade, through his listening device had already realized: that Terra harbored a secret crush for him. And with this latest development -- this relationship with that alien girl -- he wanted to avoid any awkward situations. After all, the boy hardly knew what to do with a good emotion when it came his way; what was he going to do about two sources of extreme emotion?

In fact, he noted, Robin and his girlfriend were the only ones who hadn't actually taken their turn watching the house. If he didn't know better, he would say the two of them were probably finding some private time to themselves. But he knew better, knew that Robin wouldn't be relaxing any time soon, not until he found out what he, Slade, would do with the information he now had at his command, information that could absolutely ruin everything he'd worked so hard to build up.

No, Robin wasn't relaxing. The question was: what was he doing, then?

Well, Slade was going to find out for himself. He commanded the robots to begin their attack, then sat back and waited, smirking behind the metallic mask.

After a few minutes -- the time it took for the alarms to go off and for the police computers to process those alarms and what they meant, then send that information to the Titans -- the alarm in the Tower went off. (He could tell because of the red lights flashing in the reflection of the windows.) He smiled to himself, leaning forward, his hands folded patiently.

He watched Beast Boy and a dark shape that had to be Raven leave the Tower, and he watched Cyborg leave his place outside Terra's house moments later. He waited, watching the Tower, but no Robin or Starfire. Of course, that only proved that they were't at the Tower or at the house. Where were they?

He didn't like this. They shouldn't have been able to sneak away. He'd been watching the Tower from every angle, and he'd even once been underneath it -- there were no underground tunnels. There were no passages out of that Tower that he couldn't see the exits to. They should have been in the Tower. And, if they somehow managed to slip past his cameras around the Tower, they surely couldn't have gone very far -- he had surveillance everywhere, and surely something would catch them.

He looked at the screen on the left and saw the three other Titans arrive to fight his robots, destroying several upon their arrival. (This didn't concern him, as he hadn't put much work into these particular models; he only needed them to draw the Titans out -- there was no need for any of them to return in one piece.) But still, he did not see Robin or Starfire.

They couldn't have left the city, could they? From what he knew of Dick's relationship with Bruce Wayen -- who, Slade knew, was most likely Batman, considering Dick's identity -- it wasn't likely that Robin would return to Gotham. At least, it wasn't likely that he would come back with Starfire. She wasn't exactly the easiest person to explain away, and he was already having problems with his identity. An alien girl would only bring more questions.

Besides, they couldn't have made it all the way to Gotham without him seeing them, could they?

A gloved fist pounded on the edge of his chair, and he gritted his teeth in frustration. He was going to have to go all the way to Gotham, wasn't he?

TTTTTT

"And how, exactly, are you going to explain her to the press?"

"I'm sure Babs could do something with her."

"She can't even speak English, Robin!"

"Shut up, Bruce. We're working on it."

"Excuse me. Shut up? You invite yourself over and then start ordering me around?"

Robin's eyes narrowed, "She's right here, Bruce! You can't just sit here and insult her!"

Starfire sighed, her legs tucked up underneath her chin as she sat in the corner and watched the exchange sadly. They'd been bickering like this ever since they first arrived at the Batcave (until that point, Robin had been determined to observe radio silence, since he didn't want to talk to his father foster about the situation yet.)

They hadn't even gotten around to addressing the real problem yet. Bruce still didn't know about Slade and the bug they found in Terra's camera. He only knew that Starfire knew about the identity that was secret, and he wasn't pleased about it.

Really, they'd just been arguing about her for the past half hour, and when she tried to break in and say that she didn't want to be the cause of so much contention, they both shrugged her off. They were so alike, really; maybe that explained why they didn't get along.

"And the eyebrows? The skin?"

"Hey, I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure you can fix that with makeup."

"And you're just expecting me to go along with it?"

Robin smirked, "No, that's the beauty of it, Bruce. You can look as upset as you please. It'll make the press even more interested if it looks like you don't approve, because that would explain why I haven't talked to you. But the press'll believe anything if there's a girl involved."

She sighed again, staring intently at the ground. She didn't want Robin to be unhappy, didn't know that Bruce Wayne did not want him to get emotionally involved with anyone. She thought that, by coming here, they were helping to keep the secret that was so important and that Bruce would help them to find some way out of Slade's grasp.

An older man who looked quite distinguished for his age -- he must have been the one Robin called "Alfred" -- cleared his throat and knelt down beside her, offering her a plate of cookies that smelled absolutely delicious. "Thank you," she said as she took one, delighted to find that they were still warm and gooey -- fresh out of the oven. "Tell me, do they always fight like this?"

"Only recently, Miss Starfire" Alfred sighed, smiling warmly at her.

"Then, they used to be friends?"

"Once upon a time," he nodded. "They used to be very close."

"What happened?"

"I'm not really sure," Alfred admitted. "I suppose the tension slowly built up between them until, one day, they exploded at each other."

"But what caused that tension?" she asked, reaching for another cookie. Robin was right; Alfred really did make the best cookies in the world.

"I suppose it was a number of things, but I believe they were simply too alike."

"Too alike?" she repeated after she swallowed a bite of cookie.

Alfred nodded, "Neither will admit it, but everyone else could see it. They practically become father and son, and Master Dick wanted, like any other young man, to be treated as an adult."

"Was he not?"

"Master Bruce believed he was doing the best he could, but he could not stop thinking of Master Dick as the little boy in the circus tent," Alfred smiled softly. "Master Dick left because he wanted to be like his father -- like Master Bruce. He wanted to make a name for himself, and he couldn't do that if he was still considered a child."

"Yes, Robin would not care to be treated as such," she nodded, thinking of Slade and how he talked down to Robin, which made him that much angrier.

"You're barking up the wrong tree!" Robin shouted at Bruce Wayne, bringing her attention back to their argument. Had she been comofortable being part of the conversation, she would have asked why on earth Mr. Wayne would bark or climb a tree, but she let them continue, afraid of what they might do to her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, Bruce, I didn't come here just because of some stupid magazine article."

"No, you came here to force your girlfriend in my face!"

"Not everything is about you, Bruce!" Robin shouted, much louder than before.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment, each fuming at the other. Had they been Tamaranean, their eyes would have been glowing with anger.

"Perhaps you should step in," Alfred murmured.

"They will be angry at me again."

"Try again," he said. "Explain to Master Bruce why you are actually here. I don't believe Master Dick will be able to stop arguing long enough to explain himself."

"You may be right," she nodded, then stood up slowly. "I thank you for your insight." She took a deep breath, then said, with as much strength as she could muster, "Perhaps I can explain our plight, Robin."


	11. Chapter 11

I sincerely apologize for taking so long to update. Every time I've logged on to this site, it boots me back off. I blame my faulty internet. It's fixed now, but that was an infuriating few months...

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the DC Universe or Teen Titans.

Chapter 11

It wasn't very comforting to look out her window and hope that someone was there. She liked it much better when Raven or Beast Boy was actually in her room with her; it gave her more of a feeling of security. But Cyborg wanted to feel needed, and who was she to deny him this small favor? Besides, he could probably see more from out there than they could see from in her room, even if she was more comfortable that way.

Was he even out there?

She squinted her eyes, trying to see what she knew she couldn't see, because he was hiding. And for a huge ex-football player who was half metal, he was incredibly good at hiding, which was weird. But, hey, he was a Titan, which made him full of surprises. So, she shouldn't have been surprised - if that made any sense at all.

She squinted again, but she still couldn't see - wait.

Okay, that shape definitely wasn't Cyborg.

She ran to the other side of the room as fast as her twiggy legs could carry her (she cursed the years spent wandering for her tiny physique) and jerked the window open. Looking to either side of her, she whispered, "Hello? Anyone out there?"

_"Hello? Anyone out there?"_

_The cave was dark, but, as she told Starfire, she had a flashlight, so it was okay. But the flashlight wasn't finding anyone in the shadows like it was supposed to do, and she had a feeling this wasn't just a bat or a stray cat. This sounded bigger._

_After about five minutes, though, she finally gave in and shrugged. Maybe it _was _just a cat._

_But then she heard another pebble overturn, and she bolted upright, now thoroughly annoyed. How was she supposed to go to sleep this way? If it was just a stray cat, she was going to strangle it. Wasn't it hard enough that she couldn't even trust the people she thought were her friends? Wasn't it enough that she'd run away from yet another home?_

_If she'd been a foster child, she would be the kind of child that they called a runner, the kind that left as soon as things got bad in the home. But it wasn't like that, not for her. She wasn't leaving for herself; she was leaving to protect them. _

_If only stupid Robin hadn't figured it out..._

_She heard the noise again, and she shook her head to dispell her thoughts. "Hello? Anyone out there?" she called again, and this time, a dark, human-shaped form answered her._

Terra blinked, trying to digest that memory, a memory that didn't have anything to do with Robin or Beast Boy or anybody. It was her own memory, and for that reason, she rather cherished it. It was a memory with just her in it - well, just her and a random person in a cave.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't the only one in it. Maybe it was Slade in there, too, but she'd been able to get through the whole thing relatively painlessly, so it didn't exactly count, did it?

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. After all, there was a shadow out there that definitely wasn't Cyborg, and she wasn't sure exactly what she thought about that.

Her heart was beating wildly now, and she was just about ready to throw caution to the wind and start screaming bloody murder, but she remembered that the Titans were watching her, so screaming would only make her parents nervous and make it harder for them to hide out in her room and outside her house. It would be better if she just kept her mouth shut.

Maybe if she could just lure the whatever-it-was out of hiding...

If she was Terra - which, at this point, there was pretty much no denying - then she should have Terra's powers, right? So, maybe, if she concentrated really, really hard...

For a moment, she saw yellow at the corner of her eyes, and she heard a slight yelp as the ground started to crack, but then she lost it, and the ground stopped cracking.

Well, it was a start. Before, she hadn't been able to even use her powers at all.

Of course, now that she was looking back on it, that probably wasn't the best idea she ever had. After all, if the whatever-it-was turned out to be, like, Cyborg's hand or something, he wasn't going to pleased, and if it turned out to be a bad guy, she'd just given away the fact that she really was Terra and not just a suspicious-behaving teenage girl.

But whoever she scared wasn't showing his face, so she decided to try again. After all, if it was Cyborg, he would have said something to her through the communicator Robin gave her before he left to go to Gotham. (She wasn't supposed to know that he was going there, because it was supposed to be a secret; he was supposed to still be in Jump City, as far as anyone else knew, but she wasn't stupid. She'd been a spy before, as much as it pained her to remember, and she knew a little something about taking in information. And everything he did said he was leaving, and it wasn't hard to guess his destination after she knew that much.)

She concentrated on the ground in between the two trees in her backyard - the ones that were shading the bushes and making it hard to see the source of the strange noises - and closed her eyes, hoping this would work.

She heard the ground rumble, so she opened her eyes, but as soon as she opened her eyes, the ground stopped rumbling. it was probably because she broke her concentration. She sighed in frustration, realizing this was definitely a familiar feeling.

_No, no, no, no, no!_

_She ran after the rocks, trying to stop them from falling, trying to keep them from building momentum, since there was a village just below and she really, really didn't want to cause another natural-disaster-that-wasn't-so-natural. _

_She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate, but the deep rumbling of rocks headed towards her broke her concentration, and she dived out of the way, her eyes still strangely glowing yellow. She didn't understand it; if she needed to concentrate to use her powers, why did she have to concentrate to turn them off, too? Shouldn't breaking the concentration stop it on its own? Her powers were so confusing..._

"Yep," she muttered to herself. "This isn't new."

Suddenly, the communicator at her hip beeped, and she quickly picked it up before it could make too much noise and scared her parents into checking in her bedroom.

"Hello?" she whispered, not quite sure of herself. After all, this was a Titan communicator in her hands, and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to react to that.

"Hey, Kid Flash asked me to tell you to stop throwing rocks at him," Cyborg said. He sounded a little rushed, and she heard a couple explosions in the background.

"Who's Kid Flash, and where are you?" she asked.

"Kid Flash is an old friend that we asked to sub in for me while we're off fighting Slade," Cyborg explained. "Hold on." The viewscreen switched to a view of the rock walls of a mine, and she heard a sonic cannon blast followed by a "booyah!" after which Cyborg's face reappeared on the screen. "Slade always sends his robots out at weird times of the night," he shrugged. "I'll be back soon, but in the meantime, stop throwing things at my replacement!"

She stuck her head out the window to see a blur run through the trees, then stop just under the windowsill. A boy wearing a ridiculously bright suit flashed her a thumbs-up, then ran back to his hiding spot before she could even blink. Well, at least that explained why they called him Kid Flash...

But she saw something else moving in the bushes, and she narrowed her eyes. This something wasn't yellow and red; it was pink, and she remembered pink. She remembered an annoying girl with pink hair who hung out with a couple losers who were always out to steal something but were never much of a threat. She remembered that girl making fun of her crop top and shorts and her stick legs, and she narrowed her eyes.

"Cyborg, someone else is out there."

Instead of sounding alarmed, Cyborg just chuckled, "Oh, that's probably Jinx. Kid Flash takes her pretty much everywhere nowadays."

"Jinx?" she repeated. That sounded just like the name of the girl she used to fight, which couldn't be right, because she was working with the Titans, and now she was even more confused than when she didn't remember anything at all.

Cyborg just laughed again, "I'll explain it to you later. Take care, rock-n-roller."

She laughed and hung up the communicator, grinning at his nickname for her. It was nice to know that somebody cared about her enough to watch her back, to give her a nickname, that kind of thing.

Of course, if she had been looking a little harder, she might have noticed that, besides Kid Flash and the mysteriously-now-good Jinx, there was a metallic robot with a distinctly recognizable pattern in the neighbor's bushes.

TTTTT

"It's a good thing Kid Flash wasn't too busy to help us out tonight," Cyborg muttered over his shoulder at her as he readied his sonic cannon.

She nodded, "I don't like leaving her unprotected. Not yet. She can't access her powers yet."

"How's that going, by the way?" he asked casually as he blasted away at Slade-bots.

Although her face did not reflect it, she smiled on the inside. It was funny how, as they grew more accustomed to fighting, they fell into an easier, almost nonchalant style of combat. This style involved side conversations, thumbs-up, and, when Robin and Starfire were around, rare bits of flirting or hand-squeezing. It was almost as if the fighting was merely the backdrop to everything else going on.

"I'm working on it," she said slowly, then turned, her eyes glowing the darkest shade of black. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she shouted, causing some support beams to break and fall on top of a few Slade-bots headed for Beast Boy while his back was turned.

He changed from a rhino back into a human, flashed her a grin, and shouted, "Thanks, Raven!" He changed back into a rhino, then flattened a few more robots.

Beast Boy was much happier lately - and that was a big deal for him, since she didn't think he could get anymore innocent and carefree. Terra's return was good for him, even if it complicated everything else, even if it put Robin's very existence as a superhero at stake. But it was good for Beast Boy's morale.

"Any progress?" Cyborg asked, returning to their conversation. She didn't get to answer him, though, because he immediately charged towards a few robots, fists raised and vocal chords straining with his shouts.

A Slade-bot surprised her from behind and kicked her out of the air. As she landed on the ground, her hood fell back, revealing - to her utter dismay - her surprised expression. Scowling, she put the hood back up, annoyed that she was so openly emotional, even for a few moments. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chanted, and her soul self entered into the Slade-bots. A few moments later, the robot exploded from the inside, and she darted from robot to robot, doing the same thing. By the time her concentration started to weaken and she had to return to her body, most of the Slade-bots were down.

When she opened her physical eyes again, Cyborg was sitting beside her body, protecting it from harm while she worked. It was nice of him to do that without even being asked, and she realized that the team was so accustomed to each other that they anticipated each other's needs. That was a good sign, something she should tell Robin when he got back from Gotham. If he got back from Gotham.

She didn't know what Robin was playing at, trying to figure out how to get leverage against Slade. He'd obsessed for months over Slade's identity and hadn't found a thing; how was he expecting to get anything that could even remotely balance out his _secret identity_?

It was probably a desperate play, something that he only hoped would work and didn't really expect to pull through, and that worried her. She'd always known Robin to have Plans A-Z ready if needed. But he hadn't planned for this, had he?

Come to think of it, this might have been part of the plan for if the identity was compromised - the whole Gotham trip thing. He probably had a plan for if someone was suspicious; he just didn't have a plan for if Slade found out. It was unthinkable that someone would just _know_; people are usually suspicious first.

"I think she's used her powers before, after she came back," she muttered to Cyborg, picking right back up where their conversation left off the last time. "Every time she thinks about it, there's a spark of recognition, and I can almost see something in her mind."

"But, of course, you don't want to pry," Cyborg grinned, but there was something else to this particular grin than the usual, teasing grin he usually gave her. This was a grin that meant he knew something she didn't - the kind of grin he would give Robin whenever Starfire tried to flirt with him and he was oblivious, the kind of grin he would give Kid Flash whenever he saw Jinx trying so hard to be a good guy. But she couldn't think of anything that might make him give her _that _kind of grin. She hadn't done anything to merit it, had she?

"I want to respect her privacy," she said cautiously, feeling her way around the Cyborg situation.

"Of course you do," he smirked, mostly to himself, then blasted a few of the remaining Slade-bots. There were only about five of them left, so the fight wouldn't last much longer. Maybe that meant their conversation wouldn't last very long, either.

She snorted. Yeah, right; since when did she have that kind of luck?

"Raven, look out!" Beast Boy shouted from behind her, then tackled her to the ground as a blast from a ray gun passed over their heads.

She silently cursed herself for not paying better attention, then took out her frustration on the two nearest Slade-bots. Three left. Cyborg went after those three while Beast Boy held out his hand to help her to her feet. She cratefully took the hand, surprised at his gentlemanly smile, then put her hood back up. (She wondered briefly when it fell off again, but then, when Beast Boy knocked her down, it must have jostled her a bit.)

She glanced over her shoulder to see that the mysterious Cyborg-grin had widened, and he looked like he might explode with the secret behind that grin. But Cyborg never divulged his grin-secrets; he rather liked his victims to figure out what he knew first. He claimed that it helped them to grow and to understand themselves, but she knew better; he enjoyed torturing them like this.

It was strange; she had never been on the receiving end of one of the Cyborg-grins, and she definitely didn't like it. Next time she saw Robin, she would tell him just how much she pitied him and what he had to put up with where Cyborg was concerned.

Beast Boy, as a T-Rex, took down two of the Slade-bots, while Cyborg blasted the head off of the last one. The three of them stood in the middle of the battlefield for a while, surveying the damage, then shrugged at each other. Usually, there was some kind of cryptic message from Slade, but then, Robin wasn't here to receive that cryptic message, so maybe it wouldn't come this time around.

"Jinx kinda spooked Terra when she saw her, though," Cyborg muttered to her as they headed back towards the T-car.

"Well, yeah, duh," Beast Boy said, suddenly joining in. It was strange to have him there; the conversation had been between her and Cyborg for so long. But then again, it wasn't like he could have mid-battle conversations; when he was an animal, he couldn't talk, could he? No wonder he was always so talkative after a fight; he was probably exploding with all the stuff he wanted to say. "I mean, last time she saw Jinx, she was fighting her with us, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess we should have picked somebody she didn't remember shooting hexes at her," Cyborg grinned - it wasn't the secret-grin, though, which was strangely a relief to her.

"Yeah," she said, glancing at Cyborg suspiciously. What did he know that she didn't? But there was no way he'd just open up and tell her, so she decided to let it go. For now.

TTTTTT

She'd faced Gotham's worst, but even that couldn't prepare her for this.

Paparazzi.

As soon as she shut and locked her car door (and double-checked the lock, just to be sure), they descended on her like a pack of wolves.

"Miss Gordon, what are you doing here at Wayne Manor? Are you meeting him for dinner? It's rather late for dinner, don't you think?"

"I'm stopping by to help Bruce Wayne with Dick's birthday party. He's not exactly in our generation, and I figured some intervention might be in order," she shrugged. She'd been exposed to the press before, when she was hanging out with Dick, but it had never been this bad. Still, the method was the same. Answer the questions so they have something to write about, but don't answer them at the same time. Seem aloof, ignore them, and act like you're in a hurry to get to where you're going. If necessary, duck into the bathroom.

"Why are you helping with the party?"

"Who's invited?"

"Did Bruce ask you to come, or did you invite yourself?"

"I'm invited," she sniffed. "You're not, but you'll be there all the same, won't you?"

"You betcha," one of the reporters said, and they all laughed at that.

"How close are you to Dick Grayson?"

"Do you know what he's really doing instead of going to school?"

"Is it true you two were dating before he left?"

It was the last question that struck a nerve, because it was dangerously close to being true. So close - but then the argument with Bruce and he was off to Jump City without even a goodbye. She glared at the reporters, "Why would I date my best friend? That's weird." She sighed, remembering the cover story, and with her best attempt at a smile, she added, "Besides, it would be even weirder if we were dating while he had a steady girlfriend."

"Steady girlfriend?"

She smiled; well, Dick wanted the girlfriend thing all over the news, and she'd just given them front page material. She could see the magazines tomorrow: "Dick Grayson's Twisted Love Life: The Reason He Left Gotham?" Well, he'd _asked _for it, so he wouldn't put up with any complaining when it happened. She'd laugh in his face.

"Much as I'd love to stay and chat, you can't come inside. It's a private party, after all, and Mr. Wayne doesn't like reporters in the house," she winked, then closed the doors behind her.

As soon as the reporters were behind that door, she leaned against it and sighed heavily. The things she put up with for old friends!

"I don't think we've ever had this much of a problem with the press before," said a familiar, gentle voice.

She grinned, "Hey Alfred. It's nice to see someone cares about whether or not I get fed to these clowns."

"I assure you; we were all concerned for the safety of the reporters," Alfred grinned easily as he offered to take her shopping bags.

"It's all there," she assured him as she saw his downward glance at the contents of the bags. "She's a size bigger than me, with longer legs, so the fit might not be perfect, but I'm sure I can manage. And I practically cleaned every store out of makeup. Skin that color isn't going to be easy to hide, and I'm going to have to do something about the eyebrows."

"Yes, Ro - I mean, Richard says that they are a deceased giveaway," said a kind, high-pitched voice from the living room.

"Dead giveaway," she smiled; she couldn't help smiling. There was something about this alien chick that just invited a smile as soon as she saw her.

"Oh, is that the phrase?" Starfire smiled demurely. (Barbara could see exactly why Dick found her so attractive; she was practically perfect!) "I shall have to remember that."

"You're not going to be talking to the reporters?"

"I shall play my part," she assured her. "I understand that my character is quite shy and does not feel comfortable around other people. I will only say what is necessary if they ask me directly, and even then, I will mumble and cling tighter to Ro - Richard." She blushed. "It is his name I am most worried about. He has impressed upon me the gravity of the situation, and I do not wish to make it any worse than it already is."

A crazy thought crossed Barbara's mind as she realized that she looked a lot like Starfire. Red hair, green eyes, the works. And the same thought was obviously going through Starfire's mind as they appraised each other.

"Oh, good. How's it going, Babs?" he said from the kitchen doorway. (He'd been sneaking a bite of something incredibly unhealthy and very chocolate. Who could resist it if Alfred made it, after all?)

She tried to look upset at him as she turned to glare at him, but all she could register was the joy of seeing an old friend. He looked so very different. He'd gained several inches, and he had a more defined build; the full-time hero gig was definitely doing something for him. He even looked happier, and she suddenly wasn't so sure she should be mad at him. She hadn't seen him look happy since he and Bruce started fighting.

Of course, there was a darkness to his little ray of sunshine, and it was going to hurt all of them if they didn't fix it. After all, once people knew his identity, it wasn't too hard to figure out Batman's. And while Batgirl wasn't necessarily in any danger, it wouldn't be the same without Batman.

"Sorry about not writing," he said casually after he finished eating the chocolate something. "My last letter was months ago, I know. I got captured by the Brotherhood of Evil - nasty business - and then we went to Tokyo, and things have been a little hectic, you know?"

It was wrong the way she felt when she saw him smile. He was _taken_. But the years apart hadn't done anything to quash the crush she had on him, and suddenly, it was much easier not to smile around Starfire.

The tension hung in the air for a moment - but only a moment. It was broken by the intrigued hum Starfire uttered as she went to the window. She pointed at the sky and said, "That is the symbol you told me about, is it not?"

"Not so close to the window. Someone might see," he said, gently placing one hand on either one of her hips to turn her away. (She wanted to strangle Starfire, which was weird, because she had a feeling she'd rather get along with the alien chick under other circumstances.) "Yeah, that's the signal."

"So, are Robin and Starfire joining us tonight?" she asked.

"Just so long as we get you back in time before the press starts wondering where Barbara Gordon wandered off too," he grinned back at her as he slipped through the secret door leading to the Batcave. Starfire followed him, and she went last.

"Let's just hope Jump City hasn't made you go soft," she teased. It was just like old times, with their constant needling. But it wasn't, because there was a third wheel.

Stupid third wheel.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Teen Titans or the DC Universe.

Chapter 12

"So, where's the obnoxiously famous couple?" Kid Flash asked, surveying the Tower. He darted to the fridge, grapped a bag of grapes, and popped a few in his mouth, chewing furiously as he waited for an answer to his question.

"Robin and Starfire, you mean?" Cyborg asked, grinning.

"Well, duh. Who else could I be talking about?" Kid Flash chuckled. Then, in a stage whisper, he added, "Unless our suspicions have been confirmed and I haven't found out about it yet." He shot a pointed glance Raven's way, and the empath glared back at him.

"Why does everyone here think they know something I don't?" she demanded,

"Because we do," Kid Flash shrugged. He was bored of grapes. He shot back to the fridge, put the grapes back, then checked the pantry. Ooh, potato chips!

"Or you think you do," she shot back.

Kid Flash shrugged, stuck his tongue out at her, then re-asked the question, "Where are they, anyway?"

"In Gotham."

"Batman meeting the girlfriend at last?"

"Something like that."

Kid Flash tilted his head to one side; he knew there was something else, something that they weren't telling him, but he really wasn't in a prying mood. He was in a more playful mood, so he'd tease them and maybe pry later when he really felt like it. He had all the time in the world, after all.

Jinx was already stretched out on the couch, fast asleep, but she moaned slightly, reminding them of her presence. "Right," Kid Flash said suddenly. "Being quiet." He zipped out into the hallway to talk to them, but they were much slower than he was. It took them _forever_ to follow him out to the hallway.

"You should probably go to bed, too," Cyborg pointed out.

"Not tired," Kid Flash shrugged. "Besides, I'm hungry. Stakeouts are boring."

"You could have come up there and talked to her, you know. She would have welcomed the distraction," Raven said, and Kid Flash was surprised. She sounded legitimately concerned. Last he heard, Raven and Terra weren't on the best of terms, and plus . . . . He shot a secret smile Cyborg's way. Well, they all knew what else.

"Naw, she was sleeping," Kid Flash said. "After she figured out Jinx wasn't trying to kill her, I mean."

"Yeah, that might not have been the best idea," Cyborg nodded.

"Didn't think about it," Kid Flash shrugged. He was bored of potato chips. He zipped back into the kitchen and grabbed an apple. "I always take Jinx around."

"And the newspapers haven't caught on yet?"

"Cy, when a reporter actually catches a picture of me, I'll eat my mask," Kid Flash grinned. "Besides, I haven't actually asked her out yet."

"You really should."

"Thanks, Mister Single," Kid Flash said, pulling a face. "You're sure it won't be awkward?"

"Awkward?"

"I mean, with you and her being Hive Academy sweethearts and all."

Cyborg looked like he swallowed his tongue, "How did-"

"I've been spending a lot of time with Jinx," Kid Flash shrugged. He was done talking about Jinx, though. "I think I'll turn in, too. Got a sleeping bag somewhere?"

"In the linen closet," Raven said. She still looked upset at them for not telling her their secret, but what would be the fun in just outright telling her?

"Thanks," Kid Flash said. Seconds later, he was back in front of them, holding the sleeping bag and a pillow. It was Robin's pillow, but he wasn't about to let them know that. He'd taken the pillowcase off and everything. It was just kind of fun to think he could get away with "borrowing" the Boy Wonder's stuff when he wasn't there, and besides, it was just generally fun to push Robin's buttons anyway. He took himself way too seriously.

"We don't have any extra pillows in the linen closet," Raven said. "They're all on the couch."

"Yeah. And?" He chuckled at her expression.

"And it's not nice to take people's stuff. Whose is it?"

"Well, if you go to bed tonight and you don't have one, you'll know, won't you?" he smiled, then ducked out of the way before she could get too angry.

Now that he looked back on it, that probably wasn't the brightest idea he'd ever had. He'd been having way too much fun, and of course Raven, the empath, would pick up on his happy teasing. Could he help it if he was impulsive? Wasn't that sort of the definition of who he was? Didn't he run around doing stuff, flying by the seat of his pants? _Give me a break! _he thought. What was the fun in being able to annoy people if Raven was going to rain on his parade?

He quickly piled up a bunch of pillows to make himself a little fort, then laid out the sleeping bag next to the couch.

It was the first time he saw Jinx without her hair up in pigtails, he realized, and he rather liked her hair down like that. It was soft and gentle, not at all like the overly-hairsprayed, stick-straight-up ridiculous hairstyle she usually had. He always wondered if her hair was pointy enough to impale people.

But her hair was not pointy. It was soft. That was weird.

He stared at her for a little while, his head cocked to one side, as he studied her curiously. She really had changed since he met her, and she was getting to be more caring, less harsh. She was, in a way, rather soft. Like her hair.

On an impulse, he reached up to touch her cheek, but then she moved in her sleep, and he pulled his hand back just as quickly. What a stupid impulse; he could have woken her up!

He shook his head, annoyed with himself and his impulses, then curled up in his pillow fort and drifted off to sleep. It didn't take him long to go to sleep, but then, he never took much time to do anything, did he?

...

There was a green tabby outside her door when she went to school the next day.

That green tabby followed her all the way to school, then paced patiently, loyally, back and forth outside the doors to the school.

Grateful for the chance to stretch his legs after a night of sitting and talking, then sleeping, then sitting and talking, then sleeping, he paced a little faster. He didn't think Terra was really in any danger, but it didn't hurt to be careful. in fact, it made him look that much better as a prospective boyfriend because he cared about her safety, right?

It was nice to have Kid Flash over. After all the intensity of Robin's announcement and then finding out about Slade knowing and all that stuff, it was always nice to have somebody to break up the monotony of cleaning up after themselves. Usually, Beast Boy was the one to break up the monotony, but he really wasn't in the mood at the moment. His mood was, more appropriately, something close to murderous, but not quite there yet. It was a kind of mood that would have made him want to punch Robin had the Boy Wonder been around, but since he wasn't, and since he wasn't around for a really, really good reason, his mood was somewhere between pity and murderous-punching. Which was a really weird mood.

So, it was a breath of fresh air to have Kid Flash over. Because Kid Flash was almost as much of a prankster as he was, but Kid Flash was better as it. He wasn't ashamed of saying that, either, because he _knew _Kid Flash was better. After all, it was hard not to be a really good prankster when he could run around and switch stuff up and poke people and that sort of thing without their even realizing it.

Beast Boy knew it was Robin's pillow when he got up in the morning to make himself some breakfast before heading off to school, but he didn't say anything. It was just going to be funny after all this was over, after everything had been patched up and Robin was in a way better mood, to watch his face as he tried to find his pillow. It was probably an expensive pillow, something Bruce freaking Wayne bought him.

It wasn't fair, because Robin had everything. He even had a cool cover identity! He had Terra fawning over him, he had Starfire as a real, official girlfriend and everything, and he had Raven who was a best-friend-who-wanted-to-be-something-more-but-couldn't-because-he-was-taken. He had the cool toys, like the R-cycle, and he could drive. (Cyborg might even lend him the T-car if the R-cycle wasn't working, and how wrong was that? He'd been begging to drive the T-car since the day he first remembered seeing the T-car!) He had the fan club, and he was the leader, and he got to say the catch phrase, and his name was the one in the papers, and Beast Boy could go on for ages. And now, Beast Boy found out that even Robin's secret identity was a rich little kid who, once again, had everything. It wasn't even close to being fair.

"Oh, look! Kitty!"

A little girl had stopped outside the gate to the private school, staring and pointing at the little green tabby. She clapped excitedly, jumping up and down, then motioned for the little kitty to come and say hi to her.

Beast Boy hesitated. He was supposed to stay here and stand guard. But Terra was in class, and the little girl was so cute, and he really needed some attention after the way Terra had been basically ignoring his desperate pleas for her to notice him and not Robin . . . .

Well, Robin would probably have shouted at him, but Robin was in Gotham, so it didn't matter, did it? He decided to throw caution to the wind - like he usually did - and go say hi to the little girl.

"Want to play, kitty?" the little girl asked, kneeling down in front of him and holding a little rubber ball. She'd been bouncing it up and down the streets before, and Beast Boy was touched that she would let a little cat she'd never seen before play with her favorite toy.

Tentatively, Beast Boy reached out and grabbed the little ball, batting it back and forth between his paws. His tail waved through the air playfully, and the girl laughed in delight.

Beast Boy got done playing with the ball and went to leap into her lap for some much-needed cuddling, but he went right through her.

When his feet hit the ground, he turned, hissing, knowing something was wrong, but he couldn't quite figure out what yet. His head was still processing the fact that the little girl wasn't there.

He morphed back into a human, "Hey, what's the big-"

There was a hiss, and gas filled his vision. Before he could put the "g" on "big," he passed out.

...

Starfire had never seen anything quite like the vehicle Robin called the "Batmobile."

Beast Boy had been correct in saying that Batman had the "coolest" stuff, and he had also been correct in saying that the Batmobile was - how did he put it? - only the baddest thing to ever run on wheels in the history of bad things!

She flew overhead, staring down at the Batmobile as two motorcycles paraded beside it. It looked so natural, this formation, as if they had always known it. But, then again, they had been working together for so long, she could only assume that they had practiced such formations.

It hurt her to admit it, but she felt somewhat jealous about the one called Babs. She knew, of course, that Robin would not let go of her for anything, that he was trying so hard to be a good boyfriend to her, but there was an irrational part of her mind that screamed bad things at Babs. Raven called it a green monster.

And why should she not be jealous? After all, Robin and Batgirl had been together for much longer than she had been together with him, and, if what Beast Boy told her was true - and so far, he was right about everything - Robin and Batgirl had been what earthlings called "an item." Apparently, there was scuttling butts about how the two sidekicks were destined to be together, and everyone was shocked that Batgirl didn't go with Robin or something when he left Gotham.

Well, she was glad Babs did not come with Robin. After all, if she had, would he have ever fallen in love with Starfire?

The Batmobile made a sharp turn around a corner, and she followed it, almost flying right into a strangely sharp, rectangular object. She recognized the shape - it was a playing card. But it was dangerous, as Mumbo's cards were, only more so. When it embedded itself in the telephone cable just beside her head, she saw that it was a particular kind of card: a joker card.

The man standing below them, facing the heros as Robin and Batgirl dismounted their motorcycles and Batman jumped out of his Batmobile, had a face that would probably have terrified her had it been one of the first faces she fought when she arrived at Jump City. (She realized that, having grown up in Gotham fighting alongside Batman, Robin had faced this man at a much younger age. It must have been terrifying at the time, but then, now she could see where he got his astounding courage from.)

It was probably the eerie smile that terrified her, the way he showed it off with extra makeup. Or maybe it was the cruel, maniacal laugh that came out of that smile when he saw Robin and realized who Starfire was.

"Meeting the family, are we?" The Joker cackled, looking up at her as he threw something her way. That something broke apart in mid-air, spraying gas everywhere. Instinctively, she held her breath and dove to the ground, landing in between Batgirl and Robin. (Maybe she landed there on purpose; maybe she did not. It did not matter.)

"Some things haven't changed," Robin muttered to Batman as he took out his bo staff and extended it.

"Most things haven't changed," Batgirl said, taking a similar stance. "Gotham's just like that."

Then, as if they had rehearsed it (which, admittedly, they probably had, back in the day), the three of them - Batgirl, Batman, and Robin - split up, each taking a different attack angle. Starfire, who did not know this maneuver, contented herself with firing small starbolts at the dangerous cards to protect her friends.

Batgirl reached The Joker first, with a flying kick, but he sidestepped it, letting her run directly into what looked like a jack-in-the-box that had suddenly appeared. Batgirl gasped in surprise as the lid closed on top of her, and Starfire rushed to help her, but, again, she was stopped.

Batman was busy fighting The Joker, and Robin had already rushed to Batgirl's aid. (He had been preparing to attack from below and swing his legs around to bring The Joker's legs out from under him, but he diverted to save Batgirl.) At this, Starfire could feel the green monster of which Raven spoke rising up in her chest, and she fought bravely to keep it down, but she could not. After all, she was jealous because Robin worked so well with his old Gotham team, as if he never left. What use was there for her here? And he had rushed to save Batgirl, too, even seeing the looks that stupid little redhead kept giving him.

She bit her lip. She was letting herself get out of hand. Robin had been so concerned about being a good boyfriend, but he wasn't the problem. He tried to valiantly to ignore temptation, and he was so good at it. She had the problem. She could not stop thinking about those temptations, could not trust him enough to let him have friends that were girls and nothing more. If she could not trust him, how could she hope to be a good girlfriend?

She rushed forward as Robin was prying at the top of the box, looking concerned at the yelps coming from inside the box. "Allow me, Robin," Starfire said, then took the lid off the box like it was nothing - which, to her, was true. After all, the lid might weigh too much for a human, but for a Tamaranean, it was too easy.

She turned away so that she could not see Batgirl taking the hand he offered her to help her out. (He had to do that, after all, because she could not reach the top on her own.) Instead, she tried to fly over to help Batman with The Joker. Even though Batman did not seem to like her, she was determined to prove to him that she was good enough for Robin, and the best way to do that seemed like helping him.

Suddenly, there was a female face in front of her own - painted like some kind of puppet or doll or something like that. Starfire remembered Robin saying something about a girl who followed The Joker around like a puppy, but she could not remember her name.

Starfire leaped backwards, away from the woman, then started to blast her with starbolts. The woman leaped nimbly away, doing a cartwheel or two before she finally came to a stop in front of Starfire, her tongue sticking out.

"Harley Quinn," Robin muttered in her ear, suddenly beside her again. She could not explain why, because he had been close to her a thousand times before, but the warmth of his breath excited her unnecessarily. Maybe it was the green monster slowly dying inside of her because he was paying attention to her again. That must have been it.

Ah, so that was the woman's name. "Many thanks, Robin," she started to say to him, but he was no longer at her side. She ended up talking to no one at all.

She could see why Beast Boy was so impressed to meet Robin. She could see now that Robin was not fighting at his best when he fought with the others. Of course, she knew that; she had seen him let himself loose before, when they were fighting Slade, and it was one of the most terrifiying sights she had ever seen. But this was not terrifying. It was strangely beautiful, the way he and his teammates fell into a groove that was so fast she had a hard time keeping up with them. But she was determined not to be a hindrance to this mission.

She decided to take out the Harley Quinn woman because, frankly, that woman was annoying for dodging her starbolts. Besides, Batman seemed to have something against this Joker person, and she knew from personal experience dealing with Robin that she did not want to step in the middle of that.

So, she picked up a piece of the road and threw it at Harley Quinn. The woman's eyes widened, and she sidestepped to avoid it, but Starfire was already there. (As she had explained to Robin, she knew the secret for travelling faster than light, and, while it drained her energy, it could be accomplished. Travelling this fast was not quite light-speed and, therefore, not as draining.) She reached out with her right hand to punch Harley, but the woman had amazing reflexes. Harley grabbed her wrist and flipped her over her back, but as Starfire fell, she blasted Harley with her eyebeams. Starfire landed flat on her back, but so did Harley, and Harley was unconscious.

Robin looked up, grinning, and he was probably about to congratulate her when his eyes suddenly narrowed behind his mask, looking, not at her, but at something behind her. His mouth worked furiously, as if he wasn't able to decide what kind of shape it should make, before he settled on a surprised, "o" shape.

She turned to see what he was looking at, but she did not see anything. He did, however, and he ran right past her into a side alley. She was about to run after him, to find out what had upset him like that, but she heard a shriek from behind her, and she decided there were more pressing matters.

Batgirl was on her knees, holding her sides as she struggling to keep from laughing. Tears were coming from her eyes as she finally let go and started laughing harder than Starfire had ever heard anyone laugh before. It was the kind of laugh the Joker had, and Starfire did not like it. Batman, seeing that Robin was not there to protect Batgirl while she was in this state, fell back to scoop her up and keep her from something that exploded seconds after her moved her aside.

Seeing Starfire, Batman nodded at her, and, for the first time, she felt that she understood what was expected of her. She watched his back, blasting anything she could see, as Batman loaded Batgirl into the Batmobile. There was another marvelous explosion that threw Starfire backwards, but Batman and Batgirl were already safe inside the Batmobile. When the smoke cleared and Starfire found the strength in her legs to stand, The Joker was gone.

The hood of the Batmobile slowly rolled down and, although Starfire could not see Batman's expression behind the mask, he did not sound happy as he demanded, "Where is Robin?"

"He saw something in the alley and ran after it," she reported. "I was going to follow him, but I saw that I was needed here." She looked down at the ground; she was never going to get Batman's approval if he saw her like this. She knew, even though it had been a good idea to help them, that he did not approve of her choice.

"He knows better than to take off like that without backup," Batman grumbled, jumping out of the Batmobile with an extended staff. He nodded in Batgirl's direction, adding, "Take care of her, would you?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to drag his sorry . . . ."

Whatever Batman wanted to say died off as an explosion shook the alley. Starfire had seen them fighting, but she could tell he cared about Robin because of the way he sprinted towards the alley, terrified of what might have happened to Robin. (She wanted to tell him, of course, that he need not worry, that Robin could take care of himself, but she could not find the words.)

Before Batman reached the alley, though, Robin stumbled out, holding a bleeding arm, but besides that, he looked fine to her. She rushed to his side, beating Batman because, honestly, she was much faster than him. She did not give him a hug, because she thought that might injure his shoulder, but she kissed his cheek gently - to the dismay of Batman behind her. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Batman demanded, but in a much more menacing tone than she used.

"Slade," Robin breathed, his eyes narrowed into mere slits. "He's here. He's in Gotham."


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Teen Titans or DC Universe.

Chapter 13

"He paid the bill and everything?" Leah looked like she wanted to take Terra's head off, but Terra didn't mind. She was enjoying the conversation too much. She liked being around her normal friends, the ones that didn't jump at the slightest noise outside her window, the ones that weren't trying to get her to remember everything at once or learn how to use her powers.

She nodded, "But he made me swear not to make it a big deal."

"Yeah, he probably doesn't want his _girlfriend_ hearing about some girl in Jump City," Chelsea grunted bitterly as Leah and Terra sat down next to her in health class.

"What are you talking about?" Leah and Terra asked together.

"Didn't you hear? It was all over _Celebrity Gossip _and _Days of Their Lives_," Chelsea sighed, looking at them with a look that clearly meant she thought they both needed to get a life. "These reporters went and mobbed Barbara Gordon outside Wayne Manor, and she let slip that Dick had a girlfriend when he left Gotham."

"That was two years ago," Terra shrugged. "Besides, I'm not some girl in Jump City. He just paid the bill because I couldn't remember any of my insurance info, and my cell phone was dead, so I couldn't call home and ask."

"Yeah, just trying to be nice," Leah grunted sarcastically.

"You're just upset because this means he's taken," Terra laughed, trying to lighten the mood. She _really _didn't want to talk about Dick Grayson right then, especially not when the real Dick Grayson was somewhere in Gotham, trying desperately to figure out how to stop the world from finding out about his biggest secret.

"By you," Chelsea grumbled.

"Yeah right," Terra snorted.

"Seriously, did you see the way he looked at you?"

Her heart did a little backflip. He was giving her looks? Then maybe her cause wasn't lost! Maybe . . . . But then she remembered Raven's glare and her warning not to pine away. Besides, she couldn't remember hating Starfire. What little she could remember of Starfire was all good, and she didn't want to make her sad. Besides, Starfire was so nice to her, even though she found out about Robin's biggest secret before she did. It wouldn't be fair to Starfire.

"If you swear not to tell anyone," Terra said, leaning forward, "I'll tell you something else about the story. But you have to swear!"

"We swear!" Leah and Chelsea said together.

"You know that girlfriend everyone's talking about?"

"Yeah?" Chelsea said, leaning in even closer.

"I've met her."

"What?" Leah gasped, then immediately clasped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide in a silent apology for her outburst.

"I mean, I didn't really get to meet her," Terra amended quickly, "but I've seen her. When Dick dropped me off at home, I saw a car drive up, and he got in. There was this cute little redhead sitting in the front seat, and she waved at me."

"Did you wave back?" Chelsea asked, suddenly much friendlier now that she knew Terra wasn't really stealing Dick Grayson away from them.

Terra paused; she didn't know how much she could tell them. She didn't even know if this story was helping Robin or not. She wasn't really in on his plans, after all, and besides, she was only telling them this story because he obviously wanted people to believe he had a girlfriend. (This was obviously a set-up for Starfire to come join him in Gotham.) "Not really," she admitted. "I wasn't feeling too good, so I didn't feel like being friendly."

"That's too bad," Chelsea sighed.

The table fell silent for a while before, finally, Leah spoke up, "So, what about Robin, huh?"

At this, Terra burst out laughing, "You don't waste much time, do you?"

"Hey, Dick's only around for a week every year, and now I find out he's taken? Humor me, girls. We've _got _to do some other gossipping that isn't so depressing!" Leah laughed.

"You know he's taken too, right?" Chelsea giggled.

"Well, we all knew that was going to happen, especially after that prom."

"Ah, yes. The prom," Chelsea grinned, staring off into space happily.

"Ahem."

Leah, Chelsea, and Terra looked up to see their health teacher glaring down at them. Terra blushed, "Sorry ma'am."

"When you three are done having social time, the rest of us are learning about slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle groups."

Terra tried to arrange her face in a manner that would suggest that she actually wanted to learn about such things, but she must have failed miserably, because the teacher simply sniffed and stalked off to go back to her slides.

A piece of paper fluttered onto Terra's desk, and she looked down in surprise, then glanced over at Chelsea, who grinned back at her. She smiled, then unfolded the paper to read: "You weren't here, I don't think, so I figured I'd let you in on the story. Robin came to the junior prom two years ago."

Glancing up at the teacher to make sure she could not see them, she scribbled a quick note back, "Robin at the prom? Yeah right."

Terra waited for a few more minutes, enduring a few agonizing slides of muscles and human anatomy, that sort of thing. Finally, the paper fell back on her desk - but she had to hide it quickly when the teacher looked over at her suspiciously. She held her gaze for a while before she finally turned away, and Terra opened the note under her desk.

"No, really. Some junior named Kitten had her dad blackmail him into taking her out to the prom. Leah was there. She has pictures if you want to come over sometime."

Terra thought of Beast Boy sitting patiently outside her class and knew he would probably follow her to Leah's house if she went there after school. Besides, her parents both worked, and they gave her a free reign until about five o'clock when they came home. She scribbled down, "Okay. What about after school?"

For the rest of the class, Terra had to endure the actual slide show, because Leah and Chelsea kept passing notes to each other, not her. Chelsea whipped out her cell phone as well, texting underneath her desk to hide it from the teacher - she was probably asking her parents' permission to go to Leah's place. This was fine with Terra, as it left her alone with her thoughts.

There was something familiar about their story, as if she had heard it before. Something about the name Kitten.

_Beast Boy showed her the lump hiding underneath his covers. "You have to swear not to tell anyone," he whispered. "Robin would kill me if he found out."_

_"How come?" she giggled._

_"Because," Beast Boy said, his face incredibly close to hers as he leaned in to whisper, "the last time he saw one of those, he was on a _date_."_

_"You're kidding."_

_"Yeah. While you were gone, this dude named Killer Moth shows up and blackmails Robin into taking his nightmare daughter to prom. Her name was Kitten, and Robin just about barfed when he found out."_

_"I'm sure Starfire wasn't too pleased either."_

_Beast Boy laughed, "She pretty much tried to strangle Kitten in the middle of the prom."_

After what felt like an eternity, the bell rang, and the three girls tumbled out of class, talking animatedly about their planned girls' night.

"I've got some popcorn in the pantry," Chelsea said.

"I've got a twenty in my purse. We could order pizza," Leah added.

"Guys, let's not get too crazy," Terra laughed. "I have to be home by five, remember?"

"Okay, we'll just stick to the popcorn."

"Party pooper."

Terra smiled, excited for a day with her friends, then remembered Beast Boy waiting at the other entrance - the one where the buses waited for the students, not the parking lot where Leah's car waited for them. "Hang on, guys," she said suddenly. "I forgot something."

"We'll go with you," Leah offered.

"No, I've got it," Terra said, shaking her head. "I'll meet you guys at the car."

"Have it your way," Chelsea shrugged.

Terra took off running down the hallway, still clutching her books under one arm as she passed all the other kids trying to go the other way. One senior glared at her when she accidentally bumped into his arm, but she muttered a quick apology and burst through the front doors to the school.

"Beast Boy?" she murmured, trying to keep her voice low so as not to attract attention.

No answer.

"Beast Boy?" she tried again, wondering what could be keeping him. He usually jumped at the chance to talk to her. Maybe he fell asleep on duty. She pulled out her communicator and called him: "Beast Boy?"

"Terra?" came Raven's voice from the other end.

"Oh yeah; I forgot these things pick up on your end, too," Terra muttered.

"Terra, what's wrong?"

"I can't find Beast Boy."

"He's not with you?"

"I'm sure he's somewhere around here."

"This isn't good."

Terra opened her mouth to argue, but the worried tone in Raven's voice stopped her. "Raven, what's going on?"

"We tried to get a hold of Beast Boy a few hours ago, but he didn't answer. We figured he went into the school and turned off his communicator so he didn't disrupt classes like last time."

"Maybe he fell asleep."

Raven gave a rare, wry chuckle, "Not likely. We turned the volume up on his communicator before he left so if we even whisper to him, it sounds like we're yelling."

"And he's not answering?" A strange panic ran through her veins, a familiar panic.

_Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead._

_She knelt down on the ground, pretending to examine it in triumph, but really, she was praying on the inside. She couldn't have really killed him. She didn't have it in her._

_She couldn't get his face out of her mind. She didn't want to kill him, didn't think she would. Why didn't he change?_

_"Beast Boy," she choked in a half-sob._

...

"I wish there was something I could do to help," Starfire admitted to Alfred as he offered her yet another plate of delicious cookies.

"There is nothing more you can contribute to the search, Miss Starfire," Alfred sighed, looking over at the two figures hunched over their respective computers. Bruce, still wearing his Batman uniform, but without the mask, was talking with the other Justice League members in hushed tones; Robin had kicked off his boots to make himself more comfortable as he curled up in a corner with his laptop, downloading Gotham's criminal information and cross-checking it with Jump City's information.

"But it is so important to find the leverage against Slade," Starfire sighed. She and Alfred talked in hushed tones, but they still echoed through the Batcave. It seemed so lonely in there, with Batgirl gone. (Starfire, despite her initial misgivings, found that she rather enjoyed Barbara Gordon's company, since Robin and Batman had banished themselves to research the moment they returned.)

"Don't worry, Miss Starfire," Alfred smiled warmly. "You may not know this, but Batman has been called the greatest detective of this century."

"I was aware," she said almost testily. Her voice softened somewhat as she added, "I just do not know how much they can find out. Robin spent weeks, almost months, locked up in his study trying to find out Slade's identity, and he did not come up with any significant information."

"Yes, but it's the first time they've worked together in over two years," Alfred said quietly, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure, with Master Dick's knowledge of this Slade character, and with Master Bruce's detective skills, they can find something."

"I am not so sure," Starfire said darkly, staring at the floor.

Alfred crouched down beside her, smiling warmly. "Perhaps you should call it a night, Miss Starfire. Things will look better in the morning."

"I am not tired."

"Ah," he smiled wisely, "you mean you don't want to leave them alone with each other."

"He will not get any sleep."

"Neither will Master Bruce."

She managed a small smile at that, "Then it is true what you said. They are very much alike."

"I think," he said, "that as you spend more time here in Gotham, you will find that they are more similar than you realize."

She turned to stare at Robin, who ran his fingers nervously through his spiked hair as he typed more information into the laptop. Her gaze followed the long trail of the cord connection the laptop to Bruce Wayne's computer, which was downloading Robin's files about Slade. Bruce, who was also running his hands through his hair, had stopped talking with the Justice League and was now looking through Robin's reports.

"It's late, Miss Starfire."

"I am not tired," she insisted, still staring at Robin.

"Then might I suggest that a better use of your time would be to practice your English?"

She grinned at him, "Robin was right about you, Alfred."

"And what did he say about me, Miss Starfire?"

"You always know what to do."

Alfred looked rather pleased with himself and embarassed at the same time, but he covered for it by saying, "I am sure that anything he said about me is greatly overstated. Now, let's go over what you're going to say at the birthday party in a few days."

Starfire smiled, glad for the distraction. As she glanced over her shoulder, she saw Robin yawn lazily, stretch his legs, then go back to work, sipping on a nice, big cup of coffee. He was going to kill himself if she wasn't careful.

Alfred followed her gaze, then put a hand on her shoulder, "I'll accidentally forget to refill his coffee."

"He will still try to stay up."

"And when he falls asleep, I'll inform you," Alfred smiled. "We can turn off his laptop or at least lay him on his side where he will be more comfortable."

"And Mister Wayne?"

Alfred looked troubled as he glanced over his shoulder, "I cannot promise you anything where he is concerned."

Starfire bit her lip, "I know that he does not like me very much, and I know that he would rather that none of this ever happened, but I worry that he will affect his health if he continues in this way."

"That never stopped him before."

"They really are quite alike, then," she sighed, then yawned again.

...

"Grrngh."

His eyes felt ridiculously heavy, but he forced them open, taking in his new surroundings.

He recognized the decor almost immediately; everything was the same orange-black tinge, even if it wasn't orange or black. The lighting was dim, and the floors were hard.

Slade.

He grunted, then tried to sit up, but the minute he tried to move, he met something very electic and very painful. He gasped involuntarily, then sighed. "Shoulda realized," he muttered.

"Level 2 containment field," said an all-too-familiar voice.

Beast Boy remembered blankly something about Jinx and Kid Flash and a Level 4 containment field when she tried to capture him for the Brotherhood of Evil. But this field wasn't anything like that. It had been programmed so that only motion set it off. As long as he stayed in his little corner, it didn't hurt him. (He knew this because, according to Kid Flash, he'd been in pain the whole time, while Beast Boy was fine where he was.)

He knew it probably wouldn't work, but he decided to shift into a mouse, just in case. It worked inasmuch as he could actually morph, but once he tried to move forward, the sudden shock hurt him so much that he morphed back into a human.

"What're you playing at, Slade?" Beast Boy demanded; talking was probably safe, at least.

"Dear boy," Slade said in what Beast Boy considered to be an obnoxiously condescending tone, "isn't it obvious?"

Beast Boy glared at the man hiding in the shadows, "Not really. Why go after me when you've already got Robin on edge?"

"Speaking of our mutual friend," Slade said, "you don't know where he's run off to, do you?"

"Like he's been quiet about it," Beast Boy rolled his eyes. He'd seen the newspaper that morning, and while the local paper wasn't saying anything, the Gotham Times - which delivered all across the country - was talking about the Boy Wonder's return. Then, louder, he added, "I'm surprised you're not there already."

"What makes you think I'm not?" Slade asked, and the room suddenly lit up.

Beast Boy blinked away the colored dots from his vision, then took it all in. He sat in a corner, surrounded by Slade-bots - which, to his relief, were all currently switched off. But no Slade.

"Still confused," Beast Boy said, trying to ignore his heart as it skipped at least four beats, which couldn't possibly be healthy for him. "If you're in Gotham, what am I doing here?"

"I thought that would be obvious," Slade said, sounding strangely hurt that Beast Boy did not catch on so fast. (Of course, Slade was used to dealing with Robin, who had this weird ability to figure things out with, like, the smallest shred of evidence that didn't even actually make sense.)

"Look, Slade, maybe Robin got your whole mystery scheme thing, but I don't do that stuff."

"Oh, I don't know," Slade said. "I think you can figure it out if you put your mind to it."

"Dude," Beast Boy said, momentarily forgetting the containment field as he tried to throw his hands up in the air to show how confused he was. (That didn't end well.) After he recovered, he tried again: "Dude, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not the brains behind the team. I'm not even the backup brains. That's Raven or Cyborg, depending on the question."

"Are you sure about that?" Slade asked, and it was a little creepy the way his voice echoed in the room even though he wasn't really there. Okay, no. It was a lot creepy.

"Yeah, I'm sure!" Beast Boy shouted.

No answer.

"Stupid Slade and his tricks," Beast Boy muttered, trying not to move too much and also throw a mini-fit at the same time - which resulted in very small, jerky movements of his ears and feet and wide eyes when he accidentally moved too much. "Stupid Robin getting us into this mess."

Wait. Stupid Robin.

Gah! Robin was in trouble! Slade was in Gotham! He had to tell them!

Maybe if he tried morphing into something really big really fast . . . . He started to transform into a T-Rex, but the minute he put on even a few inches, the electric pain shot up his spine and sent him sprawling - and sprawling made him hit the containment field again, which hurt even worse, since the first shock wasn't done with him yet. Finally, he made his way back to his little corner, grumbling, "Stupid Slade. Now what am I supposed to do?"

"You could start by not trying that again," said Slade.

"Aha!" he shouted triumphantly. "So you're still here!"

"In a manner of speaking," Slade said, sounding highly amused.

Beast Boy thought briefly that at least he could even make Slade sound amused - which was basically the equivalent of making him laugh - before he glared at the nearest Slade-bot, since the real Slade wasn't actually around. "Dude, what's your problem? I thought you were going after Robin."

"I am _now_," Slade said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Slade laughed, a high, cruel, menacing laugh that wasn't anything like what Beast Boy tried to get out of people. (He decided he really didn't want to make Slade laugh, since that was really scary.) "Dear boy, I've seen your potential. Why don't you just live up to it?" He paused, then added, "Maybe, if you did, Terra would pay more attention to you and not to Robin."

Beast Boy glared even harder at the Slade-bot, "That's none of your business!"

"On the contrary, it's very much my business."

Fixing the Slade-bot with the best death glare he could manage, Beast Boy stuck his tongue out and shut his mouth. Well, if Slade was just going to mess with his head, he'd play the silent treatment game. That way, Slade couldn't do anything to him.

Somehow, though, Beast Boy wasn't sure that was actually going to work.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Teen Titans or the DC Universe

Chapter 14

"It's even worse than I thought."

Starfire smiled softly as Barbara Gordon made no effort to hide her glee. Alfred graciously hid his smile by turning to work on something or other, and Bruce . . . well, Bruce probably thought he deserved it.

"Come now, Master Dick," Alfred said once he had composed himself. "It's not all that bad."

"Yes it is," he moaned, setting the newspaper down for everyone to see.

There, on the front page, was a picture of Batman, Batgirl, Robin, and Starfire fighting the Joker. But the picture wasn't the problem. The problem was the headline: "Famous Couple Robfire Comes to Gotham to Visit Old Friends."

"Robfire!" he moaned again, looking around desperately for anyone to understand his annoyance and downright embarrassment.

"Hey, Brangelina started it. Go blame them," Barbara laughed, sipping her coffee with a smile that clearly told him she thought the whole thing was hilarious.

"I believe it is a compliment, yes?" Starfire smiled, obviously trying to make him feel better but miserably failing because she didn't understand the concept of couple naming entirely. "It means we are the celebrity couple, does it not?"

Robin responded by introducing his face to the table.

"'Having long been the topic of discussion in Jump City' - and everywhere else, mind you - 'Gotham's own Robin, former partner to The Batman' - love how I'm not mentioned at all yet - 'has brought his official girlfriend' - oh, how nice, Dick, they've put it in ink so it's the honest truth now. Did you know you're dating officially? - 'Starfire, a fellow Titan and an alien from the distant planet Tamaran' - at least they got that much right. The tabloids still think you're a Martian or Venutian or something - 'to meet his old mentor.' Hmm, I love how you're old now, Bruce." Barbara peeked over the edge of the newspaper to see two very unamused heroes, a smiling Starfire, and a silently chuckling Alfred.

"Well, you did want the people of Gotham to know of our arrival, did you not?" Starfire sighed, putting a gentle hand on his arm. When she did, though, she looked nervously over at Bruce, who narrowed his eyes in an expression that said: _If you must..._

"I didn't think they'd _name _us," he grunted.

Barbara, apparently oblivious to his pain - or else enjoying it; there was no telling with that woman - continued reading, "'It is probable that Robin and Starfire's relationship has progressed to the 'meeting the parents' stage' - well, that's probable, but only when Starfire actually wants her family to meet him, and he's not the bring-home-to-mother type."

"Galfore has met him, as has my sister," Starfire blushed.

Unphased, Barbara shrugged, "'It is unclear what this means for the relationship - however, it is clear that this may cause some friction between Robin and Batgirl' - oh good, they're finally mentioning me. I thought I didn't exist - 'since the two were known to' . . . ." She glanced up at Starfire, then at Robin, and he knew immediately what the article said next.

"Great. The tabloids are going to have a field day," he sighed.

Barbara, who had turned a strange shade of pink, folded up the newspaper as casually as she could and pushed it aside. "It's not even really news," she grunted.

"Right," he nodded quickly, trying desperately to look down only at his coffee and nowhere else.

"Yes, but it is important that the press sees myself and Robin here before Dick Grayson and my arrival," Starfire said. Before he could stop her, she reached out and grabbed the newspaper, smiling at the picture before she skimmed down to where Barbara had stopped.

"Starfire . . . ." But he couldn't think of anything to say.

"The article says, 'since the two were known to have romantic feelings for each other and were often seen flirting before, after, and even during fights.'" She looked up, her gaze darting back and forth from Robin to Barbara.

"It was two years ago," Barbara said.

"They're overplaying the matter," Robin said at the same time, his heart beating unnaturally fast.

A tense silence fell over the table in which Robin felt his head might explode, and he tried not to blush with every ounce of willpower he could muster. Only the tinkling of breakfast plates brought in by Alfred punctuated the silence.

"This is ridiculous," Bruce said suddenly, speaking up for the first time, shocking the three of them into a different kind of silence - a shocked silence, not a tense one.

Bruce surveyed their faces, looking both tired and amused. "You three are so focused on what happened two years ago and what the newspapers call you," he paused, looking directly at Robin to show his disappointment that Robin could be upset by something so trivial, "that you're not focusing on the bigger problem." He didn't say it, but when he looked at Robin, his eyes shouted at him, telling him that this was exactly why he didn't condone being emotionally involved; it brought more problems than it was worth.

They all fell into silence - shamed silence.

"Oh, Master Bruce, you may be amused by this particular article," Alfred said, placing Bruce's breakfast plate - complete with pancakes, eggs, and bacon - in front of him along with a tabloid magazine. He winked at Starfire, then added, "It speculates that Batman is an expecting grandfather."

"Grandkids?" Barbara choked out a strangled laugh, but it relieved the tension. Robin shot an appreciative smile Alfred's way, and the butler simply winked in return.

"Do I look pregnant?" Starfire squeaked, alarmed.

Robin laughed - and all the pressure came off his chest with the laugh - as he put his hand on her arm, ignoring the consternation he could practically feel from Bruce without turning around, "Starfire, you look just as beautiful as ever. They're just looking for ratings."

"Besides, Batman couldn't handle kids," Barbara laughed appreciatively. "And there'd be one heck of a wedding."

Kids. Wedding. Robin tried to smile, but something was happening inside his head. Something was clicking.

"Excuse me," he said, pushing his chair back and placing his napkin on the table.

"Robin, breakfast has only just arrived," Starfire protested.

Kids. Wedding. Marriage. Family. The wheels in his head were turning. A man alone was hard to track, but families left traces. Families left records. Parents had birth certificates. Children meant hospital records. Weddings left records.

"Robin?"

But he was already off, back to the laptop waiting for him. He had new numbers for it to crunch, new information to look up. If he was right, if he could get Cyborg on this . . . .

...

There was the soft feel of his uniform against her face as she leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. There was the smell of popcorn and the sound of laughter as they watched the movie. But she did not see the movie; she saw only the silver gloves inching towards her brown gloves, the way his pinkie sat next to hers.

Then, there was the feel of those gloves actually in her hands, but without gloves on her fingers. A butterfly clip pressed into the side of her head, and she could see the wind whipping around both of them - a whirlwind that threatened to take her over. She blinked, and she could see terror set in a brilliant, green face with pointed ears.

That same terror looked up at her again, but mixed with that same hope, the same belief in her control. Something pointed edged towards his neck, and he leaned backwards, his chin held high - which exposed his neck more but helped to keep his face away from the pointed rock. It was only then that she realized she had actual control over the rock, that something was forcing it towards him against her will, but why wasn't she fighting back more? She couldn't let him die, would not let herself be the cause of pain. The lower lip in that pointy-toothed grin trembled the slightest bit, but he kept insisting that she had a choice in all this. And she did, didn't she? She was just too scared to try it, terrified of what Slade would do to her if she resisted.

There was pain. He'd never treated her like this before. He had been like a father to her - always patient, showing her what she did wrong but never punishing her like this. Sure, the tasks he'd set for her were always life-threatening, and she usually came back from training bruised and sore, but he had never done _this_.

Then, there was the way they treated her - like an equal. The missions might have been life-threatening, but she was never required to face them alone. They were always ther to save her life, or even just to make sure she was comfortable. They treated her like a friend, not a daughter to be scolded. And she knew they'd never hurt her, never do to her what she was going to do to them. But if she thought about that for too long, she'd chicken out...

She almost did chicken out. She almost left him standing outside her door with a broken heart. She almost left him to die. but of all her friends, of all the ones who had taken her in, had made her feel special, made her feel like a human being and not just another charity project or science experiment, he was the one she would miss most. And she couldn't let him die, couldn't bear to watch the news the next morning and see his eyes unfocused, his ears drooping. She looked down at the warped reflection in the plastic mirror, the glitter that rubbed off onto her gloves. She couldn't just leave him here to die.

There was still glitter on her gloves. When she looked in the mirrors, at the terrified faces all staring back at her, she could see the glitter where it rubbed off onto her face when she held her head in her hands and cried. It shimmered back at her, almost like a teardrop, hiding just underneath her left eye. But she couldn't be crying, could she?

But she _was _crying - she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked up at him. He had her arms pinned on either side of her, and she begged him to kill her, to stop her from losing control, because she couldn't bear to kill him again, to hear his voice screaming her name over and over again. But he wouldn't kill her - he didn't want to anymore than she wanted to kill him, but how could she tell him that?

And there were more tears - a different kind. She wasn't resisting anymore; she had complete control. But she knew this was good-bye, that she'd never see him again. She didn't want to tell him, but she knew exactly how to stop the volcano. She could absorb its energy, crystallize the rock with her own powers. But it would overtake her - it had to. She just wouldn't tell him that. And the tears weren't even for her own life. They were for him, for the loneliness she knew he'd be facing, the loneliness she'd faced, the way his face had haunted her when she thought he was did. She felt the soft fabric of his uniform on her face as he hugged her closer - she knew, somehow, that he knew she wasn't going to come back.

There was a voice in the darkness, a high-pitched voice that cracked when it became too emotional, a voice that came to visit her and tell her about the outside world. He didn't know she was still alive, still conscious under the rock. But she was petrified - her body functions stopped, and only her mind remained.

There was light. She stepped down off the platform, staring at her hands. Experimentally, she clenched her fingers into a fist, and they obeyed her command. But she could not see anyone else around, no one that could have broken the spell. When she peeked out of the cave's mouth, though, she could see something light floating high in the sky - something that looked suspiciously like Raven, but with long hair. The-girl-that-looked-like-Raven floated down and hugged Robin - so she knew the girl couldn't really be Raven. She reached down to get a chunk of rock to fly on, but realized too late that she wasn't entirely sure of her senses. Her powers overreached, and an avalanche started somewhere above her head. The last thing she remembered was the pain of a rock to the head, then, nothing.

"Alex?"

"He's in trouble." The words were out of her mouth before she registered anything else, before she realized it was Leah who called her name, realized that Leah didn't know anything about her life as Terra.

"Who's in trouble?" Leah stared at her for a moment before comprehension dawned on her face. "Alex, you remember, don't you?"

"I've got to go," she said, neither answering nor refuting her friend's question.

Leah didn't argue; she simply watched her friend run out the front doors, reaching into her pocket as she went and, for some reason, aiming one, open palm at the ground.

As soon as Leah left, Terra commanded the ground beneath her to rise up and carry her. It was a simple thing, almost second nature, and she couldn't understand why she didn't know how to do it before. It was just a matter of wanting and directing her concentration. Besides, she remembered now. She remembered everything.

With one hand, she steadied the rock, ignoring the stares of passers-by as she careened towards the Tower, knowing that there was no turning back now that people saw her on the rock. They'd know she was Terra, and she would never be able to live the other life again. But that was fine, because she didn't want to be Alexandra - not if it meant she'd have to sit back and let Beast Boy get hurt.

With the other hand, she whipped out her communicator, "Raven, are you at the Tower?"

"For now."

"Stay there. I'm coming to meet you."

"What are you talking about? Who's driving you?"

"I'm coming there. On my own."

There was silence on the other line before Cyborg cut in, "Hey, any other time, I'd say congrats, kid, but now's not the time for celebrations."

"We'll celebrate after everything's over, okay?" she assured him. "After Beast Boy's safe and Robin's back from Gotham."

"We can't tell him," Raven said suddenly.

"Can't tell who what?" Cyborg asked.

"We can't tell Robin about Beast Boy. He'll want to come back, and he needs to focus on his own problems right now."

"Agreed," Terra nodded fervently. She remembered now, remembering why she liked Robin in the first place: he was always putting others first. But she also remembered Robin being just a crush, while Beast Boy was something more. He was, after all, the only one she wanted to save when she betrayed them. She couldn't wait to save him and tell him that.

...

"I need you to do a little fact-checking."

Cyborg nodded at Robin's face on his arm, "I've got your back, man."

Robin almost smiled, but he was too preoccupied to actually manage something like that. Instead, he sort of grimaced, then said, "I'd have Beast Boy do this one, but Raven told me about the flu."

Cyborg tried not to act surprised; he covered up for it by twisting his face into what he hoped was a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, well, it's flu season down at the high school, and he's been spending all his time in the hallways and vents where it's dirtiest."

"Give him my best get-well wishes," Robin said unenthusiastically.

"I'm betting your plan involved Beast Boy?" he guessed.

"I'm that readable?"

Cyborg chuckled, "Only to someone who knows you as well as I do."

Robin nodded slowly, "I actually needed him here in Gotham. I've got the beginnings of a plan to keep people from believing Slade. But I need Beast Boy."

"Not me or Raven or Terra?"

"Well, I need Terra, too."

Cyborg swallowed; Terra wasn't going to like that. She had come back to the Tower on the warpath, absolutely furious that Slade dared to take Beast Boy from her. It meant she had her memories back, but it also meant some funny things for relationships between the Titans for a while, especially for Raven. . . .

"She can't come either?"

"I'll have to talk to her. She's got her memories back, but it was a little draining. I don't think she's going to want to leave Beast Boy."

Something dark passed over Robin's face at the mention of Beast Boy, but it quickly passed as he said, "I'll talk to her. I only need her for my birthday party; I can get her back to you by the end of the day."

"And Raven won't work?"

"Raven would work, but . . . ." Robin did something strange with his throat and flushed a red color that nearly matched his shirt.

"I'll get Terra for you."

"Thanks."

Cyborg sighed, then shut off the communicator in his arm. He wasn't sure how they could keep up the charade if Robin needed their help in Gotham. He knew Robin wouldn't be asking if he knew about Beast Boy, but then Robin would rush to their aid and forget his own problems.

It wasn't like they didn't have help for Beast Boy, either. Cyborg sent the call to the Titans East about an hour ago, and Raven had been searching all of Slade's old haunts since the call. Terra, meanwhile, was searching the schoolyard for clues that might tell them how Slade managed to kidnap Beast Boy in the middle of the city.

"Terra?"

"Yeah?" He winced at the hopeful tone in the voice that answered the phone.

"Robin needs you in Gotham."

There was a long silence on the other end. "Me specifically?"

"You should talk to him, see if anyone else would work. Oh, and I told him you were with Beast Boy because he has the flu."

"I'll run to the grocery store and tell Robin I'm picking up some cold medicine."

"That'll work."

Cyborg sighed, reviewing the coordinates Robin had sent him. Fact-checking, he called it. He unplugged his head from the Titans' mainframe, stopping the search for electronic anomalies in the area. As he turned towards the garage to get the T-ship, a blur stopped in front of him.

"I've been all over the city, and I still can't find anything," Kid Flash gasped, seizing a jug of water and downing the whole thing in a few gulps. He looked exhausted - he'd been running around the city for the past hour, after all.

"He might be underground."

"There's no telling where Slade hid him. He know me and Jinx are here, so he would've made sure I couldn't find it that easily," Kid Flash panted, then showed Cyborg his communicator. "Did you know Robin called me?"

"He did?"

"Yeah. Called me by my first name, too." Kid Flash looked thoughtful for a minute, then asked, "Did you know Robin knew my identity?"

"It's news to me."

"So, you don't know my first name?" Kid Flash asked, sounding relieved.

"I'm going to guess Arnold?" Cyborg chuckled.

Kid Flash looked thoughtful again, then smiled and shrugged, "I bet Batman knows Flash's name. I bet Batman told him."

"Probably."

"Anyway, Robin asked me to come to Gotham tomorrow for his birthday party. Didn't know it was his birthday."

"He's sort of secretive that way," Cyborg grinned as he shrugged. It was hard not to smile around Kid Flash, and it was even harder not to smile at the carefree way he took everything - even a shock like someone finding out his secret identity.

"Yeah, well I'm not going as myself, so I'm not supposed to let anyone see me. Whatever that means. He says it's all part of the plan. He says he would've asked you, but you're not the right build. Whatever that means, too. Oh, and Jinx is staying here. Don't think Batman trusts her to be in Gotham," he grinned. With that, he ran off again, leaving a very confused Cyborg to wonder what Robin was up to.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Teen Titans or the DC Universe

Chapter 15

It wasn't that Jinx hated Raven, necessarily. It was just weird to be alone with her.

She glanced over at the dark Titan floating in the midair and tried not to think about the last time she'd been in the Tower - just after they defeated the Brotherhood of Evil. Cyborg had been good enough to trust her, and after much pleading on Kid Flash's part, Beast Boy and Starfire were convinced. Robin wasn't one to trust much in the first place, so she wasn't surprised to see the distant way he held himself around her, the way he purposefully left her out of bits of conversations. But only Raven openly protested Jinx's honorary Titan status.

"She just _happened _to show up when her allies were losing, just in time to choose the winning side?" Raven had half-shouted, glaring at Cyborg and Kid Flash.

Kid Flash grinned easily - as he always did; she couldn't yet find something to actually shake that boy out of his constant state of bliss - and raised his hands in a mock defensive gesture, "Hey, hey, that was my fault. Don't go blaming Jinx for stuff she hasn't done."

"And what about stuff she _has _done?" Raven demanded. "Like breaking into the Tower, trying to kill us several times, terrorizing Jump City - need I go on?" Her eyes seemed to tear right into the essence of Jinx's very being, and she wasn't sure she liked that look.

Then, Jinx did something she wasn't accustomed to doing, and it was only the fact that she never did this that stopped Raven from going on about her mistakes. Jinx looked down at the ground and mumbled the first apology she'd ever uttered in her life. It didn't sound much like an apology - it sounded more like a five-year-old who knew he had to say something to get his favorite toy back. But considering it was her first attempt, she was pretty proud of herself.

Not that her pathetic excuse for an apology did anything to deter Raven. Besides, Raven was an empath, and she could tell there was something off about Jinx. And she was right, of course. Jinx wasn't so sure about this whole changing sides thing. After all, relying on bad luck to curse her enemies naturally placed her in the "must-avoid" category of people - and said category included any and all supervillains. Besides, even Madame Rouge admitted to her skill, and Kid Flash himself said she was too good for the Hive Five. It wasn't like she hadn't entertained the idea of leaving the Hive Five and going solo, terrorizing Jump City for kicks, finding herself a new fashion statement, that sort of thing.

The wild card was a certain hero with spiky, red hair and blue eyes. (It was nice, she reflected, that she could actually see those eyes underneath that mask, unlike a certain, stuck-up goodie-goodie she could mention but chose not to since he was in trouble for the time being.) She wasn't sure what to do about Kid Flash or the fact that they'd kissed.

Yes, they'd kissed. And Beast Boy had been witness to it, which was rather embarassing. It wasn't a really long kiss, actually, but Beast Boy came in before it started and left before it ended, so there was no telling what rumors he was currently working to spread about the make-out session in the training room.

Emotions had been running high after the Brotherhood of Evil fiasco, and it had just seemed like the thing to do. He'd thanked her for coming, she'd thanked him for coming to find her after she left the Hive Five. They looked around and saw that everyone else had gone to get the pizza Cyborg bought and to watch the movie Speedy rented. And it just sort of happened.

And it was kind of nice to think that they were a couple. When she thought about it, her heart did a few neat backflips, and then, she felt like throwing up. She couldn't quite make up her mind when it came to Kid Flash. After all, he'd believed in her and backed her up when she made the transition. But he was the reason her old Hive friends wouldn't talk to her, and it wasn't like she was the most popular honorary Titan.

"Kid Flash left this morning?" Raven ventured as she sipped her tea. (Did that girl have anything else edible in this place, or did she survive on liquid?)

"Robin wanted him to pick up a couple things on the way," Jinx nodded. "Not that it would've taken him much longer, but he wanted to make a couple detours." She smiled softly as she poured herself some cereal. "You know how he is."

"Does one of those detours involve running around a track at the amusement park just ahead of the roller coaster just to freak out the people in the car?" Raven smirked.

"He did that?"

"Beast Boy seemed to think it was funny, at least," Raven shrugged. She took another sip of tea, and the kitchen fell into awkward silence once more.

Jinx poured the milk into the bowl and put the jug back in the fridge. Grabbing a spoon on the way to the table, she tried not to look at Raven as she passed. Every time she passed Raven, she felt a slight prickle, almost a probe, as if Raven wanted to check up on her loyalties. Which was probably exactly what she was doing, now that she thought about it.

By the time Jinx finally put the spoon full of sugared cereal up to her mouth, she was convinced Raven wanted her out of her sights. (And, since she wasn't a paranoid person, this was either entirely correct, or it was way too early to be awake - after all, who liked to wake up to Kid Flash running around the kitchen on his way out the door?) By the time she started chewing, the alarm was going off. And by the time she stood up and dropped the spoon, Raven was at the controls.

"It's the Hive Five," she said, with a pointed look at Jinx.

"That's impossible," Jinx muttered. "They're all frozen back in Paris, right?"

"Somebody must have defrosted them."

The look Raven gave her was nearly unbearable, so she threw her hands up in the air and backed away slowly. "Don't look at me," she said. "I've been here."

"Yeah. Today," Raven said, but something in her eyes told Jinx that maybe - just maybe - Raven believed her.

So, she seized that speck of an opportunity and ran with it. "What say we put my former teammates back on ice?" she asked, smacking her fist into her palm and striking a Robin-like pose - which, at least, merited a micro-chuckle. She was improving, after all.

Still, Jinx wondered, who _did _defrost the Hive Five?

And, more importantly, who _else _was defrosted?

...

"Stop playing with your hair. You look fine," he smiled, grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers so she didn't have an excuse to keep playing with the headband that kept her bangs out of her face.

"It is somewhat similar to the crown I wear on Tamaran," she said, and her other hand reached up to touch the headband. "But it goes around to the back of my hair, too."

Robin just smiled and grabbed her other hand, holding them both in his lap and staring at her. He'd been Dick-Grayson-in-a-suit a million times before, but he'd only seen Starfire dressed up like this once before - at a certain prom with a never-to-be-mentioned blonde for his date. But this? This was different.

Babs was brilliant to come up with a disguise like this. With a headband and two beaded braids to frame either side of her face, she looked more like a hippie than a superhero. (And, since Robin needed to convince everyone that he was travelling the world with his girlfriend volunteering to clean up after superheroes, this was probably a good image.) The emerald green dress was brilliant, too - it showed off her curves, but it covered her completely, with long sleeves that blossomed out at the end and a high neck that curved out just below her chin into a pointed flower on either side. The dress itself ended in mini-skirt style, but she wore green leggings underneath it with those 80s-style leg warmers and bright yellow shoes. The entire outfit was a mishmosh of decades, and yet, she looked beautiful in it - which should have been impossible, but this was _Starfire, _after all.

She didn't look anything like Starfire - with stenciled-over eyebrows and powder-puffed skin - but when he looked closer, he could still see the green in her eyes and the innocent sparkle. Yep, still the same old Star.

He looked out the window of the jet and sighed. Bruce had flown them all the way back to Jump City - in through the secret entrance Robin had built as a possible escape route prior to the Brotherhood of Evil fiasco - and snuck them into the airport. (And with Batman, the epitome of stealth, no one noticed them come in until the private jet from Wayne Industries pulled up and the pilot asked them to board. And only then did the paparazzi mob begin...)

He was used to them by now, of course. The paparazzi. It was the price of living with Bruce Wayne - well, one price, anyway. There were other prices to pay, but he wouldn't mention those when Bruce was actually being civil to him. But he could live with the reporter mob. It was the stuff they wrote in the tabloids he couldn't live with - the way they turned anything he said into a "big story." He said he hated boring social events _one _time when he was _thirteen_, and suddenly, he's Mister Funsucker until he has a blowout shindig and invites half the city and all the teenagers he doesn't know.

"Remember, your name's Kory Anders, and you're from Buffalo, Montana."

"Robin, I am capable of remembering a simple respelling of my Tamaranean name," she laughed gently, pushing his bangs out of his face. (Yes, bangs. When his hair wasn't spiky, it had to go someplace, right?) "As for where I call home, I remember what I am supposed to say. I have remembered your name, too, have I not?"

He chuckled, "I'm not saying you'll forget. I'm just nervous; that's all."

"You are not nervous; you are worried about our safety," she corrected. Her eyelids fell over half her eyes as she added, "As you always are." She examined her newly painted fingernails as she extracted one hand from his grasp, then sighed, "Although I do not understand why Kid Flash believes I should say I am from Vulcan, Canada."

"That's a Beast Boy question," he grinned, trying not to laugh.

"Ah, so the reference is on the same vein as the Control Freak's reference to tribbles in our first encounter with him?" Starfire smiled. "Then Kid Flash is also the dork, yes?"

"Ah, no," Robin laughed. "Beast Boy's a dork. Kid Flash just thinks he's funny."

"Mister Grayson," said the pilot over the intercom. (They had pulled the curtain between them during the whole ride, and when the pilot saw Starfire's figure, he didn't ask questions about why they wanted privacy.)

"Yeah, Jeff?"

"We will be arriving in Gotham City in a few moment. If you and your lady friend would please buckle up, it would be appreciated."

"Perhaps we should inform him that we have been safely seated for the entire trip," Starfire giggled in his ear.

"What, and ruin my playboy image?" Robin grinned, putting his hands behind his head.

"Then you were correct in assuming that the pilot would think us to be doing the -"

"Yes, Starfire," he interrupted quickly, his face nearly as red as her hair. "And as long as we don't give him any reason to think otherwise, he won't ask questions."

The pilot looked nearly as red-faced after they landed and he peeked around the corner. (And, just to mess with him, and just because Dick Grayson loved to play pranks - even if Robin didn't - Robin pulled on his suit coat as the pilot peeked around the curtain, shooting Jeff one of the most uncomfortable glares he'd ever managed. This, of course, made him go even redder.)

"I take it we've arrived?" Robin asked.

"You may exit any time you wish, sir," Jeff nodded, looking like he'd swallowed his tongue.

Robin stood first, offering his hand to Starfire, who politely put her manicured hand in his. "After you, Miss Anders," he said in a perfect Alfred impression.

She giggled, "Why thank you, Mister Grayson." (Okay, her British accent was _way _off, but it was still cute of her to play along.)

The door to the jet opened, and the mobbing began.

"Dick! Dick! Over here!"

"Hey you! Girlie! What's your name?"

"What's her name, Dick?"

"Why are you both dressed up?"

"Where have you been?"

"How long have you two been dating?"

"Is she the reason for all the secrecy?"

"Is she the reason you stopped going to school?"

"Just ignore them. I'll handle this," Robin whispered in her ear as she gripped his upper arm in shock. It was funny, really. Here they were, two superheroes who'd faced down demons and madmen, but they had no idea how to handle reporters. In fact, they were rather intimidated.

"If you say so," Starfire said in a voice that was too small for her.

Robin put one hand protectively on Starfire's and raised the other to stop the flood of questions. "Can't I take my girl to dinner without the headlines?"

"So she _is _your girlfriend?" one reporter with long, black hair asked.

"Didn't I just say that?" he laughed. (Even as he talked to the reporters, he and Starfire were carefully making their way towards the limo waiting for them in the parking lot. If he could just keep them at bay...) "See, _this _is why I don't tell you guys these things."

"Why'd you keep her a secret for so long?"

"What's her name?"

"What about your schoolwork?"

"Easy boys," he laughed, sliding comfortably into his "Dick Grayson" role - the role in which he laughed easily, cracked jokes constantly, and spent money lavishly. "This is Kory, and try not to mob her on her first meet-the-press. She's sort of shy."

To back up his claims, Starfire gave a feeble little wave, a fleeting smile, and a small, "Hello."

He gave her hand an encouraging squeeze and continued, "And honestly, she's been a secret because I can't tell you guys _anything_. She doesn't _want _to be the center of attention?" He could see the limo - it was just a few feet away. "And I can't blame her. It's been nice to spend a couple years outside the limelight."

"You said you were taking her to dinner. You're not going to stop off at home?"

"Why would I?" he shrugged. "Somebody's taking my bags back to the manor, and we're hungry. Besides, Bruce isn't too keen on my bringing Kory home for the party. I don't think he likes her very much." As he said this, he patted her hand encouragingly, since he knew she was already worried about what Batman thought of her, and this conversation wasn't helping matters.

"Why? What's Bruce Wayne got against her?"

Robin shrugged, "Oh, something about a pregnancy scare or something like that. It turned out to be a non-problem, so I don't see what he's so upset about."

The reporters shared amused glances at the morally bankrupt but oh-so-rich Dick Grayson. And, while they were distracted by his obvious lack of conscience, they made it to the limo.

"Drive!" Robin half-shouted at the grinning Alfred, who happily complied.

...

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star."

"I take it you've run out of pop culture songs to sing?"

Beast Boy nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden interruption. He then glared at the nearest Slade-bot. "Long time no see, Slade," he grimaced. "Or...hear from...whatever."

"Really, I had to do something when you started singing children's songs."

"I'm bored," Beast Boy shrugged. "You didn't leave me any coloring books."

"Coloring books?" Slade repeated softly.

"Whatever, Slade," Beast Boy grunted. "Just out of curiosity, how are you talking to me if you're in Gotham City?"

"I'm not in Gotham."

Beast Boy looked up to see Slade standing in the doorway. It was obviously Slade - it had the same metallic bindings on its arms and legs, and the same mask. But it couldn't possibly be Slade, could it? Slade was in Gotham harassing Robin, right?

"I understand your confusion, Beast Boy," Slade said, "but I can assure you that I'm really here."

Beast Boy wasn't sure what surprised him most - the fact that Slade actually called him by his name, which he never, ever did, or the fact that Slade was paying him more personal attention than he was paying to Robin. It was both flattering and terrifying at the same time. "I don't believe you," Beast Boy said.

Slade sighed heavily, then reached over and grabbed his right glove with his left hand. He took the glove off for a few seconds, revealing a very human hand. Beast Boy could practically hear the smile behind the mask as Slade said, "It's a relatively new fit, but, as you can see, I'm - as you would say - the real deal."

"I don't get it," Beast Boy said. "I thought you were going to Robin's birthday party tomorrow."

"I don't think you understand, dear boy," Slade said, and it was surprisingly refreshing not to hear Slade call Beast Boy by name. "The circumstances of my, as you say, harassing Robin were simply coincidental. I assure you, I don't doubt your friend's abilities to come up with a convincing cover story, nor do I have any desire to butt heads with Gotham's Dark Knight." Slade paused, apparently to consider something, then added, "But, as a fortunate happenstance, I discovered a way to distract your attention."

It took a moment for that to sink in, but when it did, Beast Boy's eyes widened. "Wait. You mean this whole fiasco was just your idea of a distraction?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Dude, then what's you _real _plan if revealing Robin's secret identity is only the _distraction_?"

"Honestly, capturing you was going to be the distraction until I stumbled on Robin's happy secret. And, I must say, I rather prefer the grandiose way of doing things."

"Terra?" Beast Boy guessed.

Slade just shook his head, "Another fortunate happenstance. As it turns out, she's been living in Jump City for months now, ever since your friend Raven defeated her father and depetrified those people. Apparently, the spell depetrified Terra, too." He paused, then added, "Although the moment I discovered her existence, I knew that was the best way to lure you into a trap."

"Well, that's one question answered," Beast Boy shrugged. "But I still don't get it."

"And you won't," Slade said. "Not until my plan is already in effect."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry my updates have been few and far between. Term papers, NaNoWriMo, and a bad breakup have been dragging me down :(

Disclaimer: Same as always. I don't own anything related to the DC universe or Teen Titans are anything like that.

Chapter 16

"So, this is the Batcave," Terra said, ambling around as she inspected her surroundings; her blindfold lay forgotten on the floor. She supposed it was suitably dark, but she was expecting something that looked less like a villainous lair. It was disturbingly like Slade's lair, with its dark, almost metallic feel and dim lighting. Only Slade's lair had an orange glow to it, while this was just dark. Just dark.

"Can I take off the blindfold now?" Kid Flash asked beside her.

"I already said you could," Robin said, his breath coming out in a sigh of annoyance.

Terra grinned over at Kid Flash, trying to let her face cast an expression worthy of the awe the Batcave should have inspired. But she was too concerned with Beast Boy's safety. She knew that Raven and Jinx could handle the rescue effort for now, but that was strangely not enough for her. If she even had just one more person on the case, or if it was just Jinx and not Raven...

It was strange, the way hatred for one person could spring up so suddenly, the moment she got all her memories back. When she thought of Raven, she thought of the threat against her life, the only time any of the Titans had actually dared to go that far. "It'll be the last thing you do," she'd said. All because she was holding a pointed rock to a certain green chin.

She understood that Raven was protective of her friends. But Raven wasn't allowed to be protective of Beast Boy, because that was Terra's job. And if the things Kid Flash and Cyborg were alluding to came true... Raven just wasn't allowed to be near Beast Boy anymore; there was no other explanation. Maybe she was just jealous, overreacting, whatever. It was entirely possible.

Kid Flash's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Hey, Robin, didn't realize you were this short!"

Robin's cheeks flushed with a bright red color - but only momentarily. Terra felt her heart jump into her throat, then looked down at herself in surprise. She'd thought, with all her memories back, this would stop. But she also remembered the shared smiles, the way he understood exactly what she needed, the way she could turn to him for advice. They'd flirted, and then, when she was defenseless and amnesiac, he was there for her. That wasn't something she could just dismiss because she remembered almost-kissing Beast Boy.

Which left her confused once more. This wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to remember everything, and that alone would clear up all her questions. Her identity would clear away her jealousy, fix everything, and who was she kidding? Since when did her life go according to plan? If there was one thing she learned from all her memories, it was that nothing in her life played out like a fairy tale. More like a horror movie.

She allowed her gaze to wonder to where Kid Flash stood, pointing at the displayed uniform. Terra couldn't help but smile, but she also sympathized with Robin. It was the original Robin uniform - it looked more like a cirus outfit with a cape and mask attached; which totally fit with what she knew about Dick Grayson. And the person who wore it - who must have been maybe twelve years old at the time - stood at barely even half Batman's height. Maybe half. Maybe less.

"Guess you were always tiny," Kid Flash laughed, ruffling Robin's hair and then darting away before Robin could deck him - which he could, if Kid Flash would just stay still long enough.

"So, are you going to tell us why we're here?" Terra asked, and she was surprised how satisfying it was to see him smile gratefully at her. How confusing.

"We're going to trick the press," he said - was that a smile at the corner of his lips? It couldn't be; he hadn't smiled since this whole fiasco started. Maybe Gotham was good for him after all.

"What are you talking about?" Kid Flash asked, finally slowing down long enough to join them in an actual conversation.

And then, he was there. Batman.

In all honesty, he was much scarier up close than she had imagined. He was way tall, and he didn't smile, like, ever. She felt herself shrinking under his gaze, and a small squeak escaped her lips before she could stop it.

"This is Terra?" Batman asked - addressing Robin instead of her, as if she didn't exist.

Robin nodded, "That's Terra."

Batman looked down at her, his eyes narrowed behind the mask, before he said, "So, you're the one who started this whole mess."

Her brain told her lips to twist up into an innocent smile, but she just managed a little twitch at the corner of her mouth, which wasn't convincing in the slightest. "That's why I'm here, sir. To help fix the situation any way I can."

Batman didn't look convinced - which, somehow, didn't surprise her. Instead, he sighed and thrust something into her hands, turning away to go talk to Kid Flash. (She tried not to notice the way he wasn't quite scowling when he talked to Kid Flash - he more or less looked down at the redheaded speedster with a disinterested smirk.) So, she busied herself by inspecting the thing Batman gave her.

It looked more or less like a belt buckle, but she knew better than that. She turned it over and over, looking for a button, but could find nothing. Maybe something in the Batcave would give her a clue to all this. Did it have something to do with all the pictures of Starfire - from every angle - or the ones of Robin - from every angle - and the 3D imaging . . . . Wait.

"Kid Flash," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

In a flash, he was by her side. "Yeah?"

"I know what we're doing."

"Yeah?"

"We're going undercover."

He grinned broadly, "Sweet. Do I get a detective badge?"

...

He glanced over at the tall figure sitting next to him. She had not moved for hours, but simply stared at the screen, eyes narrowed, her fingers interlocked beneath her chin as she studied the green-skinned Titan on the monitor.

She and the rest of her associates were on the right track - they just needed a nudge in the right direction. Yes, the Titans trusted almost without reservation. It was a flaw, but not a fatal one. That trust also helped them to build a network of contacts, and every military genius knew the importance of such a network. Should one of them be captured, it was a simple matter to call up reinforcements.

Their fatal flaw, then, was not trust, as the woman and her associates had assumed. It was self-sacrifice. He'd seen it first with Robin, had known that, no matter what he threatened the boy, it was nothing compared to the threat against his friends. But all heroes - whether part of the Teen Titans, the Justice League, or anything else - shared this concern for the welfare of others. They would even value their own safety below that of these others - even if they did not know the person.

This was the problem with networking. If one part of the network was compromised, the entire system might collapse. He saw the same thing with his electronic experiments. One part of a computer system gave him problems, and when he tried to fix it, it drained power from another necessary area, until he had nowhere to draw power from and the whole thing shut down.

It was a simple flaw to exploit. Put one of them in danger - for example, threaten Robin with exposure - and the others rushed to the rescue. Now put another in danger, and they spread themselves thin. Over time, and with more "emergencies," the Titans would wear themselves out. He could already see this happening. Obviously, the others had chosen not to tell Robin about Beast Boy's capture, or he would have left Gotham by now to help in the rescue effort. But, because he did not know about the kidnapping, he kept drawing others into his own plans. This drew more Titans away from Beast Boy's rescue, forcing the Titans to call on other friends.

And what better way to keep them distracted? As long as they stayed focused on protecting each other, they would never think to focus on anything else.

Of course, those Hive Five children were a problem, he reflected as he stared at the monitors, watching the two magically inclined girls glide towards the mall. He knew, of course, that freeing all the villains at once did not mean he could control them all, but he rather hoped they would have more sense than this.

What would Raven and Jinx do once they realized someone had defrosted the Hive Five? Would they check the Brotherhood's old hideout to make sure no one else was defrosted?

He would simply have to keep them busy. The moment those girls finished with the Hive Five, he would call on them, give them an ultimatum to save their friend.

He allowed his gaze to wonder back to the screen, where he saw the changeling change into a puppy, howl sorrowfully, then change back and place his chin on his knees, completely bored. Slade had not held a conversation with him for some time - and why should he? They had already gathered all the information they needed.

"Zis von does not have much of an attention span," the woman noted.

"Based on my information, he spends most of his time playing video games or watching television," he said. Apparently, they were talking now.

It was a shaky alliance at best, based entirely on his gradiose rescue and assurances that he could direct them to victory. Of course, he did not doubt his own abilities - in fact, he rather looked forward to fighting against the Titans once again. The last time he saw them - with the exception of Beast Boy, who he had heckled at the fair - he fought alongside them. While he had immensely enjoyed annoying Robin by insinuating that they had a "friendship," he looked forward to gauging them in battle, seeing how their experiences with the Brotherhood of Evil made them grow.

In a sense, Slade took pleasure in watching them grow. He had been there since nearly the beginning of the Titans, and it was his influence that shaped them the most - even Trigon did not have as much of a hand in their history as he did.

And there was the boy. Robin. Slade stood by what he had said all along - they were quite alike. And if he couldn't teach Robin as master and apprentice, if the boy insisted on learning things the hard way, that was his choice. Either way, the boy was learning from him, whether he realized it or not. This latest encounter, for example, was teaching Robin the dangers of loosely guarded secrets, teaching him to be more careful with his trust, even hardening him against furthering his friendships. Lesson learned.

"It vill not be hard to convince them," she said quietly, her gaze still focused on the screens.

"I would focus my attention on the two girls. Terra and Raven."

"Ze blonde I understand," she nodded. "But vhat of ze other?"

Behind his mask, Slade smiled. This was the entertaining part of working with teenagers - raging hormones. The oldest, Cyborg, had noticed what Slade took only moments to see. Raven, who hated Terra, who threatened his apprentice's life when she endangered a certain teammate's life, who held tightly to a penny - a gift - who, even now, resisted Terra's influence, felt something more than friendship for the youngest Titan. Whether she recognized it in herself and whether it was strong enough to overcome the affection she obviously still had for Robin, he did not know.

But he could not communicate all of this to the woman, not if she did not see it already. So, he simply said, "She is empathic."

"Zen I will simply avoid her," she shrugged nonchalantly. "I still tink ve should dispense ze formalities and reveal ourselves."

"Patience, Madame," he chuckled. "I've found that the Titans' defenses are most lax when they believe they have won."

Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded briefly, "For now, ve vill do tings your vay. But if I see zat your plan does not vork . . . ."

"It'll work," he said, with a grim determination that immediately silenced her.

...

Jinx's team wasn't too bright in the first place, but now that they'd been frozen, thawed, and let loose on the world without her, she was starting to wonder how they made it through the Hive Academy in the first place.

"We _so _don't have time for this," Jinx sighed, then snapped her fingers and caused the ground underneath Mammoth to cave in around him.

"Hey! What was that for?" Mammoth grumbled in his usual, lumbering way.

Jinx sighed. Mammoth had been like that for as long as she could remember - always stumbling through things, always bumbling around, never understanding the simplest concepts. The only reason she kept him around was that the Hive Mistress teamed them up, and she felt slightly responsible for the two boys. After all, Gizmo was so young, and Mammoth was so clueless. They needed someone to help them out.

"Do I have to explain to you what changing sides means, Mammoth?" she asked sadly, snapping her fingers one more time to sink him further into the ground, pinning his arms as well as his legs.

"I thought we were friends," Mammoth grunted, his eyes narrowed in the first real expression - besides hunger - she'd seen on his face in some time. She was just sorry the expression was anger and hatred.

Jinx just looked away, trying to ignore the way she felt like throwing up when she saw that look. She glanced over her shoulder to see Raven pinning Seemore to the wall with her powers, with Gizmo right behind her.

"Look out, Raven!" she shouted, snapping her fingers. Gizmo's mechanical legs all broke in half, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Watch it, pitsniffer!" Gizmo snapped, whirling around to face whoever did that to him.

Obviously, he had not been expecting to see Jinx standing there.

"Huh?" Gizmo's face contorted into a grimace of surprise and pain as Raven blasted him from behind. Jinx looked up to thank Raven, but she saw Kid Wykyd appear behind her. Without any warning, she reached up and shot a hex in Raven's direction, trusting the dark Titan to duck out of the way in time.

And, just as she thought, Raven phased through the ground, and the pink hex hit Kid Wykyd directly in the chest, knocking him backwards. Unlike the others, Kid Wykyd did not look surprised to see her - but then, she had never really known him to reveal any emotion. He was sort of like Raven that way, but Raven actually talked. (And, despite Raven's obvious disdain for anything Jinx did, it was nice to live with someone who she could at least carry on a conversation with - no matter how awkward and short that conversation was. She was sure Kid Wykyd talked, of course, but she hadn't heard it yet.)

"What was that for?" Raven asked, phasing back out of the ground.

"Hello? Just blasted a bad guy for you. You're _welcome_!" Jinx retorted, her hands balling up into fists as she glared at her so-called ally.

Before Raven could say anything else, several red forms jumped on her head. Billy Numerous bore down on Raven, and before Jinx could rush to her aid, Gizmo started firing some kind of ray at her. Performing a perfect backflip - one that would have made the Headmistress proud, had she been back at the Hive Academy - she knocked the ray out of Gizmo's hand, then placed her hand on the boy's backpack.

The energy ran out through her fingertips and lit up his backpack, shortcircuiting the entire outfit. While Gizmo shrieked - more in anger and twelve-year-old fury than in pain - she turned her attention to See-more.

"Jinx," he said softly, a pink tinge evident on his cheeks.

Despite herself, she could feel her face heating up. "See-more," she said quietly, stepping towards him. But then, she recovered and took a step back, her eyes glowing pink.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, putting a hand to his goggles.

They stared at each other like that for a while, each daring the other to make the first move. But neither could do it, and they both knew it.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

The clothing rack nearest See-more came crashing down on him, knocking him unconscious. Jinx turned to see Raven frowning down at her, the rest of the Hive Five lying in varying states of consciousness at her feet.

"Sorry about that," Jinx muttered, staring at her feet.

To her surprise, Raven's lips curled into an almost-smile as she said, "I can't imagine that was very easy for you."

Jinx blinked, then looked up at Raven. It was easy to forget Raven was an empath, because she didn't exactly broadcast the fact that she knew exactly what you felt. (She liked to broadcast that she knew when you were hiding something, but that mostly just happened when she didn't like somebody and didn't want everyone else to trust that newly-reformed somebody.) But, in that moment, Jinx was grateful for that particular power of Raven's.

"They were my friends," she said quietly, looking down at the five boys she used to hang out with. "I mean, they're all idiots, but I sort of grew up with them."

Raven nodded, placing a tentative hand on Jinx's shoulder. "I know it probably won't make you feel any better, but tonight's little showdown is definitely helping your standing in my eyes."

"It helps," Jinx nodded, then looked away. She wasn't usually like this - open and caring. Living with boys sort of did that to her. (Of course, Kid Flash was entirely different. He wore his heart on his sleeve all the time. If he was happy, that was obvious. And he was never mad, so she was sure it would be obvious if he ever encountered that particular emotion.)

Raven looked like she wanted to say something else, but her communicator went off. Jinx had to bite back a sense of jealousy - the Titans still didn't trust her enough to give her one of her own, but then again, she was already moving up in Raven's eyes; maybe she shouldn't press her luck.

When Raven opened the communicator, her eyes immediately narrowed. "Slade," she practically spat. "What do you want?"

"Raven," he said calmly back to her. Jinx felt a shiver travel up her spine. She remembered standing in Slade's lair beofre, the way all the light seemed to vanish, even where the lights were. She remembered the fear, the way her knees trembled even just standing there, the way she definitely didn't want to work for him as her first assignment out of the Hive Academy, but there was something about Slade that kept you from refusing any offer he made - ever. (This was one of the few things she felt she could connect with Robin about - other than that, he was an obnoxious goodie-goodie who didn't trust her yet.)

"Did you set the Hive Five free?" Jinx demanded before Raven could say anything else, elbowing her way into the communicator's viewscreen so she could stare Slade in the face - which was terrifying, she had to admit. But she was a Titan now. She wasn't allowed to run away from scary things, even if she'd sworn never to have anything to do with Slade after she worked for him that one time. (Of course, that oath had been more along the lines of never working for him, while this was more or less working against him, so it didn't count, did it?)

"Why would I waste my time?" Slade laughed darkly, and the familiar shivers travelled up her spine.

"As a distraction," Raven said, her eyes narrowed. "Where's Beast Boy?"

"No patience," Slade sighed, shaking his head. "Very well, Raven. We'll do things your way. Beast Boy is safe, for the moment."

"For the moment?" Jinx repeated. Why did that one phrase terrify her so much?

"You've got twenty-four hours to find him," Slade said. "He's outlived his usefulness as a distraction, you see. Tomorrow night, the same time Robin's birthday party starts, he won't ever be a distraction again."

Jinx could feel Raven's fingernails digging into her bare skin, but she chose not to cry out when she saw the look of sheer terror on the Titan's face. She hadn't noticed it as part of the Hive Five, but Raven actually cared about her teammates, didn't she? How weird.

"Where is he?" Raven breathed, but the transmission had already ended.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the DC Universe, Teen Titans, or pretty much anything. At all. Except maybe the storyling, but my subconscious and I are still debating the rights to that one in court... :)

Chapter 17

4:32 am.

Her body was finally adjusting to the idea of not getting any sleep. From about one to three o'clock, her head screamed bloody murder and her eyelids kept drooping. After all, a hard day's work of fighting villains followed by a sleepless night was disastrous for her health, and she knew it. But she couldn't give up on Beast Boy now.

She still didn't have any leads on where he could be, and he only had fourteen and a half hours left. She glanced at the digital clock again. Fourteen hours, twenty seven minutes.

It probably wasn't going to help her nerves to keep glancing at the clock like that. After all, the more she watched the time, the more she was aware of how much of it passed.

She could sense Jinx standing in the back of the room, trying valiantly to stay awake with her. Jinx didn't have the same drive, didn't have the same connection with Beast Boy that kept Raven so desperately awake. (Not that the connection meant anything, mind you. Raven was like this with all of her friends. Hurt them and you die. End of story.)

"You can sleep if you want to."

Jinx shook her head, her eyes half closed. "And what would I do if you found a clue while I was sleeping?"

"I'd wake you up."

"Swear to it," Jinx insisted. (Raven had to admit, this little act was doing wonders for Jinx's quest to get on Raven's good side to be accepted as a Teen Titan.)

"I swear."

"Good," Jinx nodded, sliding down into a sitting position against the wall. Too tired to stand and walk into the living room and crawl onto the couch, she simply leaned back against the wall and drifted off. Within seconds, she had toppled over, curled up on the floor and started softly snoring, completely out.

"Well, gee, I was sort of hoping you'd all be asleep when I got back so I could wake you up with good news," said a familiar voice from the doorway.

"Cyborg!" Raven was surprised to hear the exhaustion in her own voice, echoing back to her in the eerie silence of twilight hours. "You have to help me!"

The biggest Titan's face changed from mild amusement to concern as he rushed to Raven's side. A quick look at the computer screen told him all he needed to know. "How much time?" he asked.

"A little over fourteen hours," she said, glancing at the clock. She bit her lip; they were wasting valuable time talking when they should be out there taking Slade down, making him pay for putting Beast Boy in danger - well, maybe they shouldn't go that far. It was totally unlike her to feel this much anger; she should calm down. It was the sleep deprivation; it had to be.

Cyborg sat down in the chair Raven had been occupying until that point, then started typing furiously. "Did you try tracing his original signal?"

"I can't get anything at all. The tracer doesn't recognize the signal's signature." At any other time, Raven might have felt vaguely proud of herself. Spending all those hours with Cyborg working on his car had taught her more than enough about technology.

"What about a frequency scan?"

Raven shook her head. "Already tried it. The frequency is close enough to basic landlines that the computer can't distinguish between it and every phone call placed around that time in the entire city."

"Did you try narrowing the bandwidth?"

"See, this is why we keep you around," Raven sighed, the promise of a smile in the corner of her cheek. "How do you do that?"

Cyborg sat down at the controls. "It'll take less time if I just do it. I'll show you how after this is over," he said. "Oh, and while I do that, why don't you go up to the living room?"

"Why?"

"The Titans East gave me a lift home. They're grabbing some breakfast right now."

"Good; we could use all the help we can get." Raven phased through the ceiling and through the living room floor.

Speedy put his feet up on the coffee table, munching some kind of protein bar with one hand behind his head. Aqualad was perched on the counter, talking animatedly with Bumblebee and gesturing towards Speedy. (Apparently, they were fighting again. Raven wasn't surprised.) Mas and Menos sat in the corner, munching on what had to be one of Starfire's Tamaranean confections with confused expressions on their faces.

"Hey," Raven said, announcing her presence. (After all, phasing wasn't exactly the loudest way to enter the room.)

"I was wondering when someone would be around," Bumblebee smiled. "I heard you're running low on Titans, and we're here to help. So, who's missing?"

"Robin and Starfire are visiting Gotham, as you probably know," Raven said carefully. She didn't know how much Cyborg told the Titans East, and Robin would probably prefer it if they all stayed as ignorant as possible. "But that's not why you're here."

"Yeah, Sparky told us about Beast Boy," Bumblebee nodded. "So, any leads yet?"

Raven shook her head, "Not yet. Cyborg's working on that right now."

Aqualad tilted his head to one side, studying her. (Raven had no idea why she felt somewhat better when he did that. There was just something about a cute boy looking right at you...) "It's more serious than we thought," he said. It wasn't a question, but more of a statement that he felt the rest of the Titans East should be aware of.

"Slade's given us a deadline. Seven o'clock tonight." Raven had to fight the urge to bite her lip. Saying it out loud somehow made it more real, more urgent.

"Slade?" Speedy repeated, raising an eyebrow behind the mask - she knew the eyebrow was raised because the mask material stretched up with it, making one side of the mask look bigger than the other. She could read his expressions because he had the same kind of mask as Robin; still, it had taken her a while to figure that out, too. "If he's involved, what's Robin doing all the way in Gotham?"

"He's still got loyalties in Gotham," Raven said.

"Batman?" Aqualad asked. (In the corner, Mas and Menos perked up and started muttering in Spanish excitedly. Raven was reminded once more just how badly she needed to learn Spanish. Maybe she would introduce Starfire to some unsuspecting boy to learn the language. It would be fun to see Robin's expression.)

Raven nodded, "Robin may be the leader of the Teen Titans, but he's always going to be loyal to Batman."

"Which is nice and everything, but what about Beast Boy?" Bumblebee asked. Raven appreciated that; Bumblebee was always getting down to business, always jumping into battle.

"We don't know where he is. I couldn't get a trace on his communicator, and we're not receiving any signals from the tracker in his belt."

"There's a tracer in his belt?"

"Yeah, well, after the Brotherhood of Evil fiasco, we didn't want to rely entirely on the communicators for anything," Raven shrugged.

"Why don't we have those?" Aqualad asked.

"Cuz you've got a unitard and we wouldn't know where to put it," Speedy smirked.

Bumblebee rolled her eyes at the boys, then turned to Raven. Her eyes narrowed in concern as she asked, "Have you been to sleep at all?"

"I can't sleep," Raven admitted. But, since she didn't want to seem overly concerned and break the aloof character she had worked so hard to build, she added, "I'll sleep after we've saved my teammate. For now, I need to be available the minute we have something concrete."

"It's almost five in the morning!"

Raven felt her heart jump into her chest as she looked at the clock. 4:56. Fourteen hours and four minutes. This wasn't good.

Bumblebee noticed the sudden change in Raven's attitude and put a hand on her shoulder, steering her away from the other Titans East. The two girls ducked out into the hallway where they could talk freely.

"Sparky didn't tell us things were this serious."

"They weren't this bad when he left. We just got the news last night."

"And you didn't tell us? We would have sent Mas and Menos ahead of us to help you out."

Raven shook her head, "There wasn't anything we could do until Cyborg got here. The only clue we've got is a transmission from Slade and a frequency scan."

"Still, if we'd known, we would have tried a scan from our end or something," Bumblebee insisted.

"I wasn't thinking," Raven admitted. That was a scary thought - that she could be overcome by emotion like that, that the cool and composed head she was so proud of could fall apart completely when faced with a deadline and the possible death of a teammate. It was a fatal flaw to have, and she really should address it, spend some time in meditation, that sort of thing. After this was over, of course.

"Look, I know you're shaken up over this. But the calvary's arrived," Bumblebee smiled, throwing her arms out wide with a confident smile. "I mean, no villain's ever stood up to all of us before, right? We've gotten out of tight situations before, right?"

Raven managed a little half smile, if only because she knew Bumblebee would keep up the happy girl routine until Raven gave her something like that.

Suddenly, the communicator at Raven's hip beeped, and she snatched it up with a speed before unknown to her. "Anything?" she hissed at Cyborg.

"I've narrowed the search, and I've found a few different sources."

"A few?"

"Four, to be precise."

Raven was doing the math in her head. Cyborg, Bumblebee, Mas, Menos, Speedy, Aqualad, Raven, Jinx. Two Titans per source. "Send Mas and Menos to the furthest source and have them check it out." She glanced down at the map again. "Aqualad and Speedy can take the one nearest water."

"Aqualad and Speedy? You sure you want to leave them alone together?" Bumblebee asked.

"They can work together under pressure. They'll be fine. Besides, the source is near water, but it looks like it's suspended above everything else. Aqualad can get them in, but once they're in, I don't know how accessible the water will be."

"What about the rest of us?" Cyborg asked.

"Cyborg, you and Bumblebee will take the one in the middle of the city. Jinx and I can take the one in the ravines."

"You and Jinx?" Bumblebee repeated.

"I promised her I'd let her in on the action," Raven shrugged. "Besides, I'd prefer to be the one keeping an eye on her."

"You're starting to be friends, aren't you?" Cyborg asked in his near-teasing voice.

Raven, in response, simply snapped her communicator shut and turned to Bumblebee, "You ready?"

"Just let me give out the team assignments."

"I'll go wake up Jinx," Raven nodded, then phased through the floor.

In the few short minutes she'd been asleep, Jinx had managed to mash her hair up against her face on one side, resulting in a pointed ponytail on one side and a straight, rather normal-looking hairstyle on the other side. There was something to be said about a Gotham villain who had worked for both sides of the law, but Raven wasn't in the mood to crack jokes. That was a Beast Boy thing, and he wasn't there to do it.

Raven glanced at the clock. 5:03. She sighed, glad that Jinx got at least half an hour of sleep, before she reached down and gently put a hand on the enchantress's shoulder. "Jinx?"

"Mmph. What time's it?" Jinx muttered, opening one eye and sitting up. Her hands went immediately to her hair, straightening the left side back up into the pointy hairstyle Raven recognized before she yawned again.

"It's five o'clock. Sorry to wake you," Raven whispered. "Cyborg's here."

"Oh, hi," Jinx said.

"Hi," Cyborg said back, and suddenly, the room was filled with the familiar tension that follows two people who used to like each other but broke up. There was a similar tension every time Beast Boy saw the amnesiac Terra - at least from his end.

"He's isolated some possible hiding places," Raven explained, helping Jinx to her feet.

"Then what are we still doing here?" Jinx said in her best attempt to sound brave. (In reality, she just sounded incredibly tired.)

"Wasting time," Raven agreed. With that, she phased both of them out of the Tower. They reappeared somewhere above Jump City, riding a disc made entirely of dark energy as the raced through the city.

"Let me speed things along," Jinx said, and Raven was grateful to her for not mentioning how strange travelling this way felt. Raven had heard enough from Beast Boy about the shivering and the cold sensation and the way he felt like he would die of suffocation every time she phased him through walls. Jinx sat down, her legs dangling dangerously over the edge, then shot energy out of her fingertips. The kickback propelled them through the air faster than Raven could have levitated them, and the city limits soon approached.

"Thanks," Raven gasped as she tilted the energy disc into a dive. Suddenly, she felt something electric travel across her entire body, and the disc disappeared.

Thinking quickly, Jinx grabbed Raven around the middle and fired another wave of energy into the ground. The momentum of the blast slowed their fall, and they landed gracefully on the ground. "Well," Jinx said, putting her hands on her hips, "that's not suspicious at all."

"It looks like some kind of energy field," Raven said.

"This is definitely a good news bad news moment," Jinx smirked. "Good news, this has got to be Slade's hideout. Bad news, we can't get in."

"We don't know it's the hideout. Slade's not the kind of person to go for the obvious."

"You mean like putting a lot of security in front of the decoy and putting the real Beast Boy in the middle of the city where we can get him?" Jinx asked.

"Maybe, but this place is worth checking out all the same. The others will let us know if their places check out."

"No problem," Jinx grinned. "Just point me towards the generator."

"Be careful. We can't just go blasting everything we see. Beast Boy could be anywhere, you know."

Jinx blew out all her breath in annoyance, "It's so much harder to be a good guy! There's all sorts of rules you can't break!"

"You're doing a pretty good job so far," Raven pointed out.

"Yeah, whatever." Jinx peered through the energy field, then chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "I wonder," she muttered, then backed up. Before Raven could ask what she was doing, Jinx took a running start, somersaulted, and landed with her feet directly touching the energy field.

"Jinx!" Raven shouted despite herself when she saw the electrical energy cross Jinx's entire body. But, to her surprise, the enchantress simply winked and pointed her finger at the ground. The energy criss-crossed her body, then deposited itself into the ground. Jinx was using herself as a conduit! "Brilliant," she muttered. Jinx's powers meant bad luck for anything she came in contact with, which meant the energy field didn't stand a chance.

A small opening revealed itself underneath Jinx, and Raven ducked inside. It was then that she saw the problem: if Jinx stopped letting the energy flow, it could become dangerous. "Hold on, Jinx," she said aloud, though she wasn't sure if the enchantress could hear her behind all that energy.

Raven flew across the rock quarry, looking for the nearest electrical anything. The generator would have to be centrally located. It would be simpler if the energy was visible besides just when someone was touching it.

Wait.

Raven stopped flying, touched down, and took a deep breath. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she shouted, and a black energy grew from inside her and branched out to meet the energy field. Everywhere the black energy touched the field, the spell stopped short, providing Raven with a good view of the energy field.

There. That was where the black energy was completely missing. That had to be the generator. Raven held out her arms and received the dark energy back into herself, then rushed towards the generator. She glanced at the clock on her communicator. 5:36. They were wasting valuable time. Thirteen and a half hours left! If this wasn't where Slade was keeping Beast Boy, they needed all the time in the world.

Raven could feel her eyelids drooping, but she forced herself onwards. It took an eternity to reach the generator, but when she reached it, the spell to slice it in half was simple. After a quick empathic sweep to make sure nothing alive was inside it, she performed the spell. The generator burst open, and Jinx dropped gracefully to the ground, apparently unharmed but definitely drained of energy. Raven started towards her, but Jinx held up her hand, "I'm fine. Just give me a second to breathe."

Raven resisted the urge to tap her foot impatiently by creating another disc of dark energy for them to ride through the ravines. "You okay?" she asked as Jinx hopped on.

"Like I said, I'm fine. Just don't expect me to give you any turbo boosts for a while. All that energy really takes it out of you."

"That's fine," Raven said through clenched teeth. Great. This was cutting into Beast Boy's time.

It took much too long for Raven to search through the tunnels. The energy field had seriously damaged their chances of getting in undetected, but it was covering the only entrance Raven know of to those tunnels, and Beast Boy wasn't likely to be sitting out in the open, was he? By the time they reached the last tunnel, daylight started to seep in through the cracks in the tunnel walls, and Raven had to force herself not to check the time.

Jinx jumped down off the disc and put her hand on the walls. Raven was about to ask her what she was doing when she saw sparks suddenly flying from the walls. A few cameras fell to the ground, and Jinx grinned up at her, "An old Hive Academy trick."

"You didn't do that with the other tunnels."

"There weren't any cameras in there."

"How do you know?"

Jinx raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were trusting me again."

"Just curious," Raven lied.

"Look, I could actually see the wire poking out of the wall. I wouldn't have thought to do it if I hadn't seen that. Can you leave me alone for even a few seconds?"

"Apparently not."

"Fine."

Raven watched Jinx stalk away through the tunnel with something that tasted alarmingly like remorse. She wasn't actually starting to befriend Jinx, was she? It was like Terra all over again, and Raven wasn't so sure she'd be willing to throw away her misgivings as quickly the second time over.

"Raven, you'd better come see this."

Raven flew through the tunnels as fast as she could, then landed beside Jinx. The two girls looked down at the destroyed Slade bots and the blaster marks on the walls. Well, at least Beast Boy put up a fight when they tried to move him. Raven crossed the room to feel the walls and was relieved to feel the warmth of the blaster scars. "This was a recent fight," she said.

Jinx bent down to look at the ground, and her eyes narrowed in concern. "See that circle?" She pointed at the charred area of ground in the corner. "Level 2 containment field."

"How do you know this?"

"Didn't Kid Flash tell you I captured him the first time we met?"

"The first time you met, he gave you a rose and you didn't even see him."

"I'm talking face to face," Jinx said, pulling a face. "The point is, once they had a field like that on Beast Boy, he couldn't do much." She paused, then took a deep breath, "The more important point is, Cyborg can probably trace an energy signature like that."

"Which means we can figure out where Beast Boy is!" Raven had to struggle to keep the glee out of her voice as she reached for her communicator. "Cyborg, are you there?"

"Raven? Any luck on your end?" Cyborg sounded out of breath.

"You okay?" Jinx asked.

"Slade was expecting us to pay him a visit. Bee and I took care of it, but it wasn't easy."

"But no Beast Boy?" Even though Raven already knew the answer, she felt compelled to ask it out of some strang ehope that welled up inside her for no apparent reason.

"No Beast Boy," Cyborg shook his head. "Mas and Menos haven't checked in yet, but Speedy and Aqualad are going to check on them now. Their place was a dead end, too."

"Our wasn't," Jinx said excitedly. "Cyborg, can you trace a Level 2 containment field?"

"If I had an air sample or something," Cyborg said.

"Get over here, then. We might be able to find Beast Boy!" Jinx grinned.

"That's what I like to hear," Bumblebee said from off-screen before Cyborg cut off communication.

Raven closed the communicator, then glanced uneasily at Jinx. They had some time to kill while they waited for Cyborg (she tried not to think about the implications of "time" and "kill" in the same sentence) and she had something she wanted to get off her chest. "Jinx?"

"Yeah, what do you want?" Turns out Jinx wasn't too keen on listening to Raven lecture her again.

"I just wanted to say thank you."

Raven had to admit; Jinx could play off surprise pretty well.


	18. Chapter 18

Happy New Year, everybody! Oh, and disclaimer: I don't own anything but the storyling. I don't own anything related to Teen Titans or the DC universe or anything else like that.

Chapter 18

7:32 am.

He stretched, yawned, and grinned at the clock. "Happy birthday to me," he muttered. After all, he should probably start off the day on a happy note, since the rest of the day would be fairly stressful. He thought briefly about calling the other Titans while he was still in a good mood, but with the time difference, it was still 4:32 in the morning for them. They were probably still asleep.

Lazily, he pulled the slippers on his feet and, without bothering to dress, tripped down the stairs, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It all felt comfortably familiar, he thought as he put his hand on the railing to guide him while his senses took their sweet time adjusting to daytime. He hadn't slept in for years, and he forgot how nice it felt.

Walking down the hallway towards the kitchen, it felt just like old times. He half expected Alfred to be waiting with his bag lunch and schoolbooks, chiding him for sleeping too late and threatening not to drive him to school when he missed the bus for the third time that week. (Of course, the threats were no good; Alfred always drove him anyway.)

"Morning, sleepyhead," Bruce half-smiled - and when he did, Robin was struck briefly by how much he missed this. But he shook it off when he realized Bruce still couldn't make his face smile all the way. Some things never changed, and he wasn't willing to put himself through it again just because he missed the nicer parts of his old life.

"Good morning!" was the only warning Robin got before Starfire attacked him from behind, picked him up, and swung him around in one of her signature Tamaranean hugs. "Happy birthday!" she half-shouted as she set him back down and draped her arms around him in a more delicate manner - which was great for his spine.

"Morning, Star," he grinned once he could breathe again.

"I have already claimed the right of being the first to give you a present," Starfire said matter-of-factly, grinning flirtaciously.

"Really?" he chuckled, but he couldn't help noticing Alfred's uncontrollable desire to laugh; what was that all about?

That's when, out of nowhere, Starfire kissed him. In front of Bruce. And it wasn't just any kiss, either. It was one of those holy-cow-she's-going-to-crush-me-but-it-feels-so-good kind of kisses that comes with the territory of dating someone who can benchpress a car. It was one of those people-might-be-watching-but-I-don't-care moments, like back in Tokyo. Because it didn't matter so long as she was there.

Starfire finished with her "birthday present" far too early for his tastes, but then he saw Bruce's face. That expression was somewhere between totally worth it and blistering shame. It was a look of "I can't believe you just did that" mixed with disappointment and a slight hint of fatherly protectiveness that comes with every foster father when his foster kid gets a girlfriend. Yep - some things never changed.

"So," he said, reaching up to tug at the neck of his cape before he realized it wasn't there. (Two years of constantly wearing the uniform forced him into some interesting habits - habits that could get him in trouble if he wasn't more careful.) "What's for breakfast?"

"For one thing, a visitor," said a familiar voice from the doorway.

"Hey, Babs!" he grinned, crossing the room in a few strides to lift his old friend up, twirl her around, and give her a hug. He didn't care, for those few seconds, that he should probably hold back on the displays of affection for Starfire's sake and for Bruce's. But he was just glad to see her - not only because she was one of his best and oldest friends, but because she'd just helped to relieve what could have been an incredibly tense situation.

"Thought you could use a little birthday cheer," she grinned sheepishly, holding out the brightly wrapped box. "I figured you'd be stressed out today and need a little ray of sunshine." Her gaze darted towards Starfire, and an expression passed over her face so quickly that Robin didn't have time to decipher it before it vanished. "But I guess you woke up on the happy side of the bed this morning, didn't you?"

"He is always cheerful in the morning," Starfire piped up. She, too, glanced at Barbara with that too-quick-to-read expression before she smiled at their little group. "Raven has informed me that he frequently greets the day with the sunrise and a smile - I believe those were her words, at least," she muttered that last part quietly, seeing the strange looks the others gave her.

"Open it," Barbara whispered in his ear, and he grinned, feeling suddenly like the kid he was when he last lived in his place. Eagerly, he tore through the glitter-covered wrapping paper to find two individually wrapped boxes. One was bright red with a little green bow around it, the other was conspicuously wrapped with the remnants of a used grappling hook, complete with the bat shape at the end.

Grinning, Robin held up both presents for Starfire to see. "Which one should I open first?" he asked her with a playful wink. After all, the door with Bruce had basically been blasted open, and if they were going to be outright with this whole thing, he would act more like a boyfriend and less like someone walking on eggshells.

"I believe the one in red and green is for Richard Grayson, not Robin, correct?" Starfire asked, looking to Barbara for confirmation. Barbara nodded in response, and something positive passed between them. He really wasn't good at picking up on the subtle means of communication girls used to talk to each other, though, so he couldn't be sure.

Robin slipped the green ribbon off the box and looked inside. Almost instantly, his face broke out into a grin as he saw the sleek new gaming system and the racing game inside it. "Wow, Babs, I love it!" he grinned as he turned the handheld device over and over in his hands. "How'd you get the latest GameBox to play an old game like Karts?"

"If I told you, it'd take all the mystery out of life," she laughed. "I'm glad you like it. I remembered you used to play that game all the time, so I figured -"

"I love it!" he declared, silencing her into a satisfied smile. "I haven't played Karts since I was in middle school; it should be fun." He reached down to pick up the second box, careful not to cut himself on the "ribbon." As the box fell open, he stifled a laugh.

"And that's for not writing me," Barbara grinned.

Starfire peeked over his shoulder and raised her eyebrows, "You have given him paper?"

"Personalized stationary," Robin grinned, holding up the lined paper so Starfire could see the little birds etched into the bottom right corner of each page. "I guess this means I don't have an excuse not to write home."

As Barbara grinned at him, Alfred arrived with breakfast, and the five of them sat down to pancakes, eggs, bacon, coffee, orange juice, assorted fruits, and such. Robin grinned; he missed Alfred's feasts more than he cared to admit. (Of course, whenever he missed a feast like this, he usually ended up in the kitchen, sitting on the counter while he waited for the oven timer to go off with criminal files in one hand and a pen in the other to edit the files.)

Well, what with everything that was supposed to happen today, this was at least a solid beginning.

...

"...and when we got there, Slade had already moved him."

"Any idea where he went?" Terra asked.

In the communicator screen, Raven shook her head, "Cyborg's on his way here right now to see if he can track them using the containment field frequencies."

"If I knew what that meant, maybe I'd be a little more excited," Terra managed to half-laugh.

"It's both a good and a bad thing," said Jinx's voice from off-screen, and Terra saw the ceiling of a cave as the communicator was passed around. Jinx's voice filled the screen again, and she said, "It's good because we have a way to find Beast Boy. It's bad because it means Beast Boy's stuck in a Level 2 containment field."

Terra rolled her eyes, "I didn't get the frequencies part of the conversation; what makes you think I'll get the containment field part?"

"Trust me; it's bad." The way Jinx said it, Terra didn't exactly want to argue.

"Aren't you tired?" Terra asked in the only way she could think of to change the subject. "I mean, it's still way early your time, isn't it?"

"Our time?" Jinx repeated.

"Yeah; over here, it's lunchtime. Robin's butler makes the yummiest grilled chicken sandwiches known to mankind and -"

"The time difference," Raven said, and the way her voice sounded so dead and defeated terrified Terra into silence.

"Slade gave us a deadline to find Beast Boy," Jinx explained, since Raven had apparantly lost all ability to speak. "He said the deadline was when Robin's party started."

"Seven o'clock," Terra nodded, her eyes wide.

"Right, but that's your time. Here on the west coast, that's three hours earlier than we thought."

Terra felt her heart drop into a stomach, and it made a sickening sploshing sound as it sloshed around in there for while. Her throat dried out, and she felt hopeless tears springing to her eyes. But, just as quickly as the feeling came, she pushed it aside, reminding herself that she was dealing with the Teen Titans, and they'd never lost a member - well, except her, and that had been entirely her choice. Titans only died by choice. It was some kind of unwritten rule somewhere. You only died otherwise if you weren't a Titan or if you were a traitor or a spy or something like she'd been. These things were constants in the universe, like gravity or the fact that tofu burgers will smell like sewers no matter how many condiments you put on them. Laws of nature, facts of life.

"Hey, who ya talking to?" Kid Flash asked, suddenly standing behind her.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Terra snapped, then immediately clapped her hands over her mouth and stared, wide-eyed, at the innocent speedster.

Kid Flash blinked at her for the tiniest fraction of a second, then laughed, "No, no, don't hold back. Tell me how you really feel!"

"I didn't mean -"

"It's all good, Terra. You're stressed; I get it."

"But -"

"It's cool. Seriously, who ya talking to?" Kid Flash peeked over her shoulder to see Jinx's face filling the screen, and his ever-present grin widened. "Hiya, Jinx."

"Hey, Kid Flash," came the guarded, coy reply.

"Something tells me there's not much time to do any catching up. Anything I can do?" It was amazing to Terra how Kid Flash could always be the prankster, the jokester, and yet still be incredibly down-to-business and good at his job. He was sort of like Beast Boy that way, only Beast Boy wasn't taken very seriously, while Kid Flash was. She wondered briefly why that was before she shook herself out of her thoughts; after all, she should probably listen for any news of Beast Boy's rescue. (Because, she knew, he _would _be rescued.)

"Nothing right now. Cyborg's on the way."

"Nothing I can do, huh?" Kid Flash grinned, then ran off.

"Does he do this often?" Terra asked.

"You get used to it," Jinx shrugged.

Moments later, Terra saw Kid Flash's face on the other side of her communicator. She grinned back at him before she noticed something else - Cyborg was staring at her, too. From behind Raven.

"I'm not exactly sure what just happened," Cyborg said slowly, holding his head.

"You sure your arm's still connected?" Kid Flash grinned.

"Only just barely," came the reply as Cyborg rolled his shoulder over and over. It made a slight creaking sound, but besides that, he seemed perferctly normal.

Kid Flash disappeared from her viewscreen, and Jinx gave her an apologetic shrug. Terra could feel herself starting to smile at Kid Flash's antics before she caught herself. There was some kind of unwritten rule about not smiling when the guy you like is in danger of a slow and painful death.

"Never tell me there's nothing I can do," Kid Flash said, suddenly behind her again.

"How'd you find the Batcave entrance?" she asked, impressed.

"I didn't. I just went in through the mansion upstairs," Kid Flash shrugged. "I would've been here sooner but I had to wait for the secret door to open - which takes forever, by the way."

"Forever by your standards," Jinx pointed out.

"Okay, now you've got Cyborg, so hop to it!" Kid Flash smirked, then closed the communicator.

"Just so long as you don't go doing stuff like that while you're pretending to be me," Robin said from the bottom of the stairs.

Kid Flash and Terra turned around to see Dick Grayson and Kory Anders - in full civilian costume, complete with a suit and a long, green dress - staring at them.

"Aren't you two supposed to be out playing your parts for the press?" Kid Flash asked.

"They were just on their way out," said a deeper voice from halfway up the stairs. Robin and Starfire immediately turned around to see Batman standing behind them - he was terribly sneaky, Terra realized. No wonder Gotham bad guys were scared of him. He was scary to the good guys.

"Kid Flash, can I have a word?" Batman asked.

Terra and Kid Flash traded looks that very clearly said goodbye, just in case he never came back. That was just the tone of voice Batman took with everyone. She wasn't sure if he did this on purpose or if it was just part of him. It was probably a little bit of both.

Terra waited until it was just her and Kid Flash in the Batcave before she asked, "So, what did he want?"

Kid Flash patted his newfound belt by way of explanation. "Anti-grav belt. It's supposed to counteract my powers to slow me down to normal speed. That way, I don't give away Robin's secret accidentally if I get surprised or something."

"Well, let's see it."

Kid Flash was even fast at human speeds, and he took off running up the stairs. About halfway up - even though he had probably run faster than an Olympic athlete - he shouted, "This is taking _forever_!"

...

"Ve should crush them when they arrive."

Behind his mask, Slade smiled at the impatience in the woman's voice. "It's been my experience, Madame, that when you simply crush the Titans, backup arrives and the indignant friends are energized with so-called righteous fury at their friends' pain."

"Your plan is too roundabout. Ve vill never progress past the first stages."

"It only seems that way to those who can't see the big picture," he smirked.

She fell into annoyed silence as she stared at the unconscious, green Titan at their feet. "Ve should at least keep him in a containment field," she muttered. For good measure, she stretched out her foot and kicked Beast Boy in the side. He mumbled a bit in his drug-induced sleep, but besides that, he did not move.

Slade thought briefly about the Level 3 containment field in operation just a few buildings over, leading the Titans carefully down. He thought once again about how to inform Madame Rouge that she would have to place herself in that field momentarily. He wondered if she could withstand it and still keep her form. "It's best that we keep him here," he said.

He glanced at the flashing numbers on the computer's clock.

...

Jinx glanced at the clock tower as they passed the city limits. 1:03. That was 3:03 Gotham time. Four hours.

As soon as she finished doing the math in her head, she looked over at Raven, who had already calculated the hours and minutes by now. The empath's shoulders looked more hunched over than usual, and she noticed that Raven kept her hood up more often than usual.

It was something she had noticed over the years of fighting them - something that started off as more of a funny thing and became later a point of interest. Raven always had her hood up when they fought. In fact, the first time Jinx saw Raven's face was in that Mother Mae Eye fiasco.

She smiled as she thought about that particular incident. After Brother Blood, she'd sworn never to let her mind be invaded ever again. But Mother Mae Eye's magic was completely different. It wasn't so much a complete takeover of the mind as it was amplifying already present affectionate feelings and directing them.

"How close?" Jinx whispered to Cyborg, who was riding alongside her on the dark energy disc of Raven's - Kid Flash's surprise didn't allow him to bring the car along.

"Another thirty minutes at this speed. And then there's the inevitable fight."

Jinx glanced at Bumblebee as she fluttered alongside them (the Titans East leader had joined them only minutes ago after crossing the entire city at top speeds). She glanced at the jittery Raven, the tired Cyborg, then down at herself. An ex-villainess and three exhausted Titans didn't stand much of a chance.

Of course, she amended, Mas and Menos would meet them there, and Speedy and Aqualad might make it there in time, too. At least, they would make it in time for at least some of the fight. According to the unwritten hero rulebook, the backup arrived just when the fighting heroes were about to give up or lose all physical strength, stuff like that. Too often, she'd been on the receiving end of that kind of backup; it would be nice to see it work for her this time.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Same as always. I don't own anything related to Teen Titans or the DC universe at all whatsoeverdear.

Chapter 19

It had been Raven's experience that, when the lair looked relatively easy to break into, it was more deadly than usual.

It had also been her experience that Slade was not to be trifled with.

These two facts beat a tempo with her overly excited heart as she saw the flashing dot on the computer screen of her communicator drawing closer and closer to the little "B" that marked Beast Boy's calculated position. She could see the abandoned docks on the horizon - five crumbling buildings with three floors apiece. The signal came from the middle one, but something stopped her in midflight.

She didn't realize that her powers followed suit until she heard the muffled yelps of Jinx and Cyborg as they tumbled off her energy disc. She heard a grunted, "Get your gears off my legs!" and a quick, "Sorry!" in response. Cyborg then stood up, blushing furiously as Jinx gave him the stare of death. At any other time, Raven might have smiled at the exchange. Then again, at any other time, Beast Boy would have been around to crack a joke about the awkwardness of the situation that only made it even more awkward.

She did not quite understand why she kept dwelling on thoughts of the little green changeling. She told herself that she only did so because she did not want to lose him - because, she had to admit to herself, she was absolutely _terrified _of losing a teammate. But was there something besides fear? She sighed; she could read others' emotions like an open book, but when it came to her own feelings, she was just as lost as everyone else. If only empathy worked both ways!

"What's going on?" Bumblebee asked as she skidded to a halt, her heels stopping only inches from Jinx's nose - even under stress, Raven had to admire Bumblebee's skill at avoiding a crash.

"Something's not right," she muttered. "Beast Boy's signal is coming from the middle building, but I'm sensing him in the second building."

Cyborg's human eyebrow shot up while his mechanical eye blinked - changing frequencies. He then checked his arm as several indicators lit up. His mechanical eyebrow shot up as he said, "Well, I'm getting a heartbeat from inside the middle building."

"And the second one?" Raven pressed.

"Nothing. I mean, I could be wrong. The place could be soundproofed," Cyborg said quickly, seeing the look on Raven's face.

Jinx looked from Raven to Cyborg several times before she slowly said, "Raven and I can check out the second building. It couldn't hurt."

"What if we're splitting up for no reason and there are Slade bots waiting for us in the middle building?" Bumblebee asked.

"Aqualad and Speedy are on the way," Jinx pointed out, then looked towards the road leading to the docks. Moments later, a red and white blur stopped in front of them and smiled - Mas and Menos. "And reinforcements are already here."

"We can handle this one," Cyborg nodded, and Raven suddenly realized what they were doing. They wanted to keep her happy, knew that she would go insane if they did not find Beast Boy, if she had to keep searching for even a minutes longer. They realized how important his safety was to her, and they did everything they could to allow her some leeway.

Raven looked at Jinx with a look somewhere between exasperated and thankful before turning on her heels and chanting, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" As soon as the words escaped her mouth, a ten-foot, black raven engulfed Jinx in dark energy and transported both enchantresses into the middle of the second building.

"Beast Boy?" Jinx called out tentatively.

"Brava, Raven," rang out a sneering voice from the darkness. It echoed all around them, preventing them from pinning down his exact location. As the last of Slade's echoing voice faded out, the lights snapped on, revealing at least a hundred Slade bots around them.

Raven clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she shouted, "Where's Beast Boy?"

"Oh, you were right, of course," Slade laughed. "He's here with me. The question is: will you be able to reach him in time?"

Raven glanced down at her communicater. The time read 3:29 exactly. The deadline was four o'clock Jump City time; that gave them thirty one minutes to get rid of all the Slade bots and find Beast Boy. It was no problem; they had done such things before.

Then, a thought struck her. "If Beast Boy's here," she said slowly, "who's in the other building?"

Slade simply laughed, and the echo of that cruel laugh seemed to spur the Slade bots into action. They all jumped forward at once, weapons drawn, taking Jinx by surprise - but not Raven. She phased easily through the floor, coming up on the other side of the bots with her eyes glowing a deep black.

"Leave my friend alone," she growled in a voice as close to Trigon's as it could be without four glowing red eyes. The three nearest Slade bots glowed the same deep black as her eyes as they were ripped apart.

From across the room, Raven could see the sudden pink glow that meant Jinx was holding her own. About five Slade bots flew into the air and piled on top of each other. Raven opened her mouth to tell Jinx that just blowing them away wouldn't cut it; the bots would keep attacking unless you took out their central processing unit, but before she could say anything, the five bots Jinx blasted away fell apart, sparks flying. "Guess she doesn't need my help after all," Raven muttered.

She stared at the army of robots in front of her and gritted her teeth. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she shouted, then reached out with her right hand. Black energy shot from each fingertip directly into the central processing unit of ten robots. She then spun around and did the same thing - but this time, each finger shot two beams of energy, which took out twenty robots total.

Even so, she couldn't help thinking: Thirty down, nine bazillion to go.

It was such a Beast Boy-esque thought that she almost stopped to laugh at herself. But that would have been suicide, especially since stopping would have let a Slade bot behind her ram it's bo staff into the top of her head. Instead, she phased neatly through the floor and reappeared somewhere less crowded, taking out more Slade bots from far away and phasing out of harm's way before they could overtake her.

This was easy, she realized suddenly. It was only too easy to let her body take control while her mind stayed in its worried-state. Her only focus was saving her teammate from Slade before the clock ran out. The Slade bots practically crumbled in front of her; it was like fighting Slade beneath the library's chamber. She let loose, and it felt so good she only barely reminded herself not to enjoy it. There was always a four-eyed danger lurking somewhere in the back of her mind, and if she started to _like _violence, she'd be giving in.

She saw an opening and took it. Slade was standing alone beside Beast Boy, who was unconscious. She would rescue Beast Boy first, then make Slade pay -

No, she wouldn't take revenge. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts even as she flew at full speed towards Slade and Beast Boy. Revenge was fed only by anger and violence, things her father knew too well. It was best to avoid that entirely.

She had finally decided on rescuing Beast Boy and only _nearly _killing Slade when she reached the two of them and saw Slade's hand move towards his belt. She threw up an energy shield without thinking, and the device that, she supposed, probably did something a lot more dangerous than fizzle out on contact with her shield fell to the ground, completely useless. A grin worthy of her father spread across her face as she reached down to shake Beast Boy and wake him up. They'd need him if they wanted to fight their way out of there.

The minute she touched Beast Boy, she knew she had been tricked. Her hands never actually touched the changeling, they met, instead, an inverted Level 4 containment field - the energy was directed outside of the field, not inside it. The electricity itself was enough to knock her out, but combined with the blow to the head from a silver thing that looked suspiciously like Slade's boot, she was done for.

...

It wasn't so bad being the good guy, Jinx thought as she blasted another Slade bot away. It was so much more satisfying to blow things apart when you didn't have to worry about getting arrested for it. Besides, even Jinx hated Slade, and she was knew to this whole hero business.

She cartwheeled away from a bot's blast, then stayed up on one hand as the second clenched into a fist with her index and middle finger pointed out. These two fingers met the floor, and a pink pattern criss-crossed across the ground. At least thirty - if not more - bots fell into the floor, trapped. Jinx then stood upright and sent out another hex that tore through their torsos and took their heads off. There could be no recovery from that.

Jinx was elated; she hadn't had this much fun in years! The courses at the Hive Academy might have been this challenging, but they weren't nearly as satisfying. And, to top it all off, she was fighting with Raven, probably earning her trust. It wouldn't be long before she finally got one of those communicators - they had been a lot less keen to give them out after the Brotherhood of Evil fiasco, and for good reason.

She felt something slam into her back, and she saw stars as well as the ground when her face hit it. Glaring, she pushed herself back up and shot one of her more powerful hexes at the bot who did that. If robots could feel regret, this one definitely regretted hitting her as it exploded into a thousand pieces - shrapnel from this not-so-remorseful Slade bot went flying everywhere, burying itself into the nearest Slade bots and slowing them down - though they did not stop.

Slade wasn't so scary, Jinx thought as she blew apart another robot.

She immediately took it back when she looked up to see Slade standing over the unconscious forms of Raven and Beast Boy. "Raven!" she shouted despite her best intentions not to sound like an overly reformed sorceress. After all, she was good, sure, but it just wasn't her style to play the overly emotional goody-goody who works for the betterment of mankind and all that crap. After all her hard work to avoid that, she was already shouting people's names in alarm and making angry, righteous-fury faces. Darn it.

Of course, Raven could not hear her, and Jinx knew that. At least she wouldn't be embarassed by Raven's version of this story later. When the others asked about the fight prior to their arrival, she would leave that particular detail out. They didn't need to know.

It wasn't that she was _trying _to be melodramatic, either. There's just something that happens in the human brain when something's wrong that you blurt out the first thing that comes to your head - and you say it really, really loudly.

Slade turned towards her, and she felt the familiar ice run through her veins. It had been years since Slade employed them to destroy the Teen Titans, and she still had nightmares sometimes about the things the Headmistress told them Slade would do should they fail him. (She remembered fondly that the Headmistress assured Slade they would be "strictly disciplined" so Slade wouldn't do the disciplining. It wasn't that the Headmistress necessarily cared about them; she just preferred live students to dead ones.)

There was nothing for it; she knew what she had to do. So, she bared her teeth, let her eyes glow pink, and took a running start.

...

There was something ominous about this place, Bumblebee realized as she pulled out her stingers. No sooner did the thought cross her mind than the lights flickered to life, revealing an army of Slade bots standing between them and a very harried Beast Boy in a containment field.

"Teen Titans, go!" shouted Cyborg in one of the most ferocious tones she'd ever heard from him. His sonic blaster was already charged by the end of the word "Titans" and started blasting bots apart by the word "go."

A red blur that could only be Mas and Menos flashed by her as it crashed into each bot in turn. Bumblebee could feel the docks rumbling and looked out the window to see Aqualad riding the crest of a giant wave, with Speedy along for the ride - and looking mildly terrified as he hung on for dear life, since Aqualad didn't usually travel this fast. She smiled; it was always a relief to see her team coming to the rescue.

Her first priority was Beast Boy. The others could blast robots while they waited for Slade to show up, but Bumblebee understood the importance of timing. She glanced over her shoulder at Cyborg, who had already guessed her plan and nodded his approval. (Even though Cyborg no longer led the Titans East, they still thought of him as a sort of morale leader. It was always nice to have his support, even if they didn't always do exactly what he asked.)

She blasted through any Slade bots unlucky enough to be too close to her, then shrunk down to the size of her namesake, still tightly gripping her stingers. Then, she ducked and weaved through the Slade bot maze towards Beast Boy.

Beast Boy looked up to see her flying towards him, and his eyes lit up. He opened his mouth to say something, but the much deserved, "Thanks for rescuing me" died in his throat as the field constricted and he instead let out a cry of pain.

Bumblebee faltered as she tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it eneded up as more of a grimace. She searched around desperately for the remote feeding the commands into the field and wished she had paid better attention back in the Hive Academy when they went over this stuff - she'd been out "sick" that day doing some research on Brother Blood and only barely passed that particular exam.

Cyborg grunted as he landed awkwardly on his shoulder just beside her. That was _exactly _what she needed. "Want to switch it up, Sparky?" she asked with a wink. "I'll blast robots while you get him out of this thing. You've got more technological know-how." The admission was not normal for her - usually, her competitive side loathed the very idea of Cyborg being better at anything. But, desperate times and desperate measures and all that.

Bumblebee grew to her normal size and fired up her stingers, blasting away to her delight. Fighting had become second nature to her; she surrendered to her instincts and let them blast away, allowing her mind to piece together a plan.

As her mind thus wandered, something clicked, as if the thoughts had been waiting for her to catch up with them after attending to Beast Boy. If Beast Boy was in this building, what about Jinx and Raven? Had they walked straight into a trap?

She gasped in surprise as a Slade bot caught her just under the chin - there would be a bruise there tomorrow. She stumbled sideways, then gritted her teeth and blasted him with one stinger while she pocketed the other so she could grab her communicator. "Raven?" she half-shouted. "Raven?" When there was no answer, she could feel the panic rising in her throat.

"Cyborg, what about Raven? I'm not getting any response from her!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Cyborg grunted in delight as he deactivated the force field and Beast Boy immediately changed into a little green dog, stretching out with a look of sheer pleasure on his face - after all, being cooped up in that little force field for so long couldn't have been comfortable. Only after Beast Boy changed back into a human did her comment register with the boys.

"Maybe she's busy fighting Slade. I mean, he's not here, right?" Beast Boy offered, and she was surprised how nice it was to hear his squeaky little voice sounding so strong.

"You tell me. You were Slade's prisoner for a while," Cyborg said.

Beast Boy shook his head, "Are you kidding? The stupid bots did most of the work!" He glared towards the door. "Out of my way, everyone; nobody kidnaps _me _and gets away with it!" With that, he changed into a rhino and charged through the nearest group of Slade bots - to the rousing cheers of Mas and Menos.

Bumblebee couldn't help but smile at Beast Boy's antics, but still, there was the nagging question: What about Raven and Jinx?

...

It was much scarier to fight Slade up close than to blast apart his little robots.

Jinx cartwheeled out of the way of his first punch, but the second hit her squarely in the gut as she stumbled backwards into the wall. The ponytail holder fell out of her hair, and she could feel the sweat matting it down - the result would have bordered on the hilarious had she been fighting any other villain. But there was no time to laugh at her half-done-up hair; she was losing - and badly!

She sent a hex travelling across the floor, breaking it apart in the hopes that he would sink in like his bots did. No such luck. He nimbly jumped aside, and she had to stop the hex before it reached the unconscious forms of Raven and Beast Boy.

"Rough around the edges, aren't we?" Slade sneered as he pulled out a bo staff.

"I've got the general idea down," she snapped back. "Beat the bad guys, save your friends, that sort of thing." She shot four pink hexes towards him, but he dodged three. Only one managed to snap his bo staff in half, but he didn't seem that put out by it.

Now struggling to hold off an army of Slade bots and Slade himself, Jinx did the only thing she could think of - she blasted the wall nearest the robots and hoped it would do enough damage to buy her some time. Meanwhile, she ran as fast as she could towards Raven and Beast Boy - only to be stopped in her tracks by Slade.

Her eyes glowed bright pink as Slade folded his arms across his chest - she could practically see his smirk behind that mask. But before she could send a hex his way, one of the bots shot her from behind with some kind of energy beam. She thought blankly that she really sucked at this whole hero thing before she passed out.

...

"I don't get it. It's nearly impossible to fool Raven," Cyborg said to Bumblebee as they fought side by side. "She can sense presences, right?"

"But this is _Slade _we're talking about," Bumblebee pointed out, and he had to agree.

"Still, I'd feel a lot better if we knew what was going on over there. We should've left Jinx with a communicator, too."

"You don't think she's out of commission, too? Or in on it?"

Cyborg narrowed his eyes, "She's not in on it."

Bumblebee backed off when she saw that look, holding her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, I didn't mean it. I get it; she's a good guy now."

Cyborg blasted through another couple bots before he decided to change the mid-battle conversation subject. "What confuses me is the containment field. The polarization was reversed so the effects were felt by whoever touched the outside, not the inside."

"So, Beast Boy would've been okay, but whoever tried to help him wouldn't be?"

Cyborg was about to say something else, but an interesting sight distracted him. He saw one of the Slade bots sneaking up on Beast Boy, but the green Titan did nothing to stop it. Instead, Beast Boy just stared at the bot as it relayed a message - though what it said, Cyborg had no idea. Beast Boy nodded thoughtfully, then turned towards Mas and Menos.

It happened so fast Cyborg wasn't sure he even saw it. Beast Boy's fist stretched out several feet to collide with Mas and Menos as they were running, sending both sprawling out, unconscious. This had barely registered in Cyborg's mind when the fist retracted, and Beast Boy's entire form bubbled and writhed.

Madame Rouge.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: I'm going to make a sequel. In fact, I'm pretty far into the sequel idea now.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Teen Titans or the DC Universe.

Chapter 20

It was weird, like looking in a mirror into a reflection that _looked _like you, but kept grinning like a lunatic and digging through your utility belt.

A brief smile crossed his face as he remembered his return trip from Japan. He hadn't bothered to tell the others; he wanted to surprise them. Boy, were they surprised - and so was he, for that matter.

At least then they all sort of looked like themselves. He could tell Cyborg had basically ruined the stretched-tight shirt, and his robotic, red eye still glowed through the white mask. Starfire's midriff still showed, along with little frayed threads where she cut the shirt off. Raven looked surprisingly normal in his uniform, and Beast Boy . . . . It was surprising, really. He forgot sometimes that Beast Boy was more human than the others - considering his green skin.

That was why he'd asked for Beast Boy first. A quick makeover and Beast Boy could do a relatively good Robin impression - sans the martial arts abilities, of course.

Kid Flash was good, too, of course. He could deal with the mask and secret identities. Speedy would've been good, too - now that he thought about it - but Kid Flash and Jinx were already there, and Kid Flash could get to Gotham faster.

"What d'ya think? Huh? Huh? Pretty good, right?" Kid Flash beamed, turning around and strutting like a model with his lips pursed in an expression that Robin sincerely hoped would never cross his face again.

Starfire hovered in the air beside Kid Flash-Robin, her ams crossed and her eyebrows furrowed. "I still do not understand why I cannot accompany you to the party that you are so dreading."

Despite his best attempts at a solemn face for her sake, he could feel the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. She understood his reasons perfectly - when she said she didn't understand, what she _meant _was she was jealous.

And when Terra emerged from the dressing room, it was easy to see why. With the holographic ring on her left middle finger, she pulled off a very convincing Kory Anders - beautiful as ever. Robin felt his heart jump into his throat and wondered briefly if it was cheating to think another girl was attractive when that other girl looked and - with the help of a voice modulator - sounded like his girlfriend. But he shrugged it off as completely unique to these circumstances and did not dwell on it for too long - besides, if he did, his head might implode.

"Star, it's not that we'd have a problem making Terra look like you," he explained patiently for about the nineteenth time. "It's that we can't replicate your powers."

Starfire had no argument for his logic, and she knew it, so she settled instead for a dissatisfied, "Hmph," before she crossed her arms again.

It was an odd sight, really - the real Starfire with the fake Robin and the real Dick Grayson with the fake Kory Anders. He was once again reminded of looking into some kind of broken mirror before Kid Flash broke into his thoughts, "So, I guess we should go on patrol, then?"

"Don't forget what we talked about," Robin said before he could stop himself. "Not too touchy feely, make sure you needle Batgirl constantly -"

"- and hold back on the smiling, act like an overly serious stick in the mud trying too hard to be like his overly serious mentor. I got this," Kid Flash grinned. He then tried to sprint away in his usual, carefree way, but he forgot about the anti-gravity belt and ended up just jogging towards the R-Cycle. (It was a wrench letting him drive it, but Robin needed the cover . . . .) "Gah! This takes _forever!_ How do you do this every day?" Kid Flash growled from across the cave.

Starfire stared at him, hesitant to get behind Kid Flash-Robin on the R-cycle and leave Robin to the ravenous reporters - not to mention Terra - without her. He figured he should probably say something reassuring, something having to do with holograms never measuring up to the real thing or -

She was kissing him like he didn't know he could be kissed. It was a frantic kiss, a frenzied one, with her hands in his hair and his on the small of her back and where did he end and where did she begin?

And then she was mounting the bike with a fiery, challenging look directed over her shoulder at Terra, her hands around Kid Flash's waist - and why did he agree to this plan again? Why did he come up with this, when all he could think about was how best to rip off Kid Flash's arms while avoiding assault charges . . . .

Starfire giggled rather triumphantly as she and a worried-looking Kid Flash-Robin sped off into the night.

...

Madame Rouge yelped in sudden pain as a red-hot arrow pierced her side. She unravelled her ribs to let the arrow fall out of her, then turned to see a smirking Speedy say, "Some like it hot . . . ."

". . . Some like it cold . . . ." Aqualad continued, suddenly behind her. She feigned surprise as the water spread up and wrapped around her, pretended to grunt in annoyance as she "could not break free." The water, aided by another of Speedy's arrows, froze around her, trapping her - temporarily.

From inside the ice, she could see Aqualad and Speedy grin furtively at each other as Cyborg stood protectively over the fallen twins while Bumblebee helped him blast away the incoming Slade bots.

She blinked - which was, admittedly, quite a feat in that block of ice - then retracted her form, leaving a Madame Rouge-shaped indent in the ice. Seconds later, she expanded her form so quickly that the ice could not help but shatter.

"What do you want, Madame Rouge?" Bumblebee growled, her fists clenching her stingers. Rouge laughed at this display of childish aggression. Why, if she wanted, she could crush the little girl like the bug for which she was named. And, of course, she wanted to. So then, it wasn't so much a question of "if she wanted," but a question of "if the plan called for it."

"More importantly, where's Beast Boy?" Cyborg demanded. Then, as an afterthought: "The real Beast Boy?"

"I am not like zose fools who call zemselves villains you fight on a regular basis. I refuse to shout my plans to ze heavens," she sniffed - _Even if they're not _my _plans. . . . _

Her refusal to answer the question was grounds enough to continue their attack. Add that to the apparent disappearance of their little green teammate, and she knew chaos would follow - the kind of chaos that could give her plausable grounds to retreat.

"What are you doing?" her temporary patner's voice hissed in her ear.

"I vill not be defeated so easily," she breathed, steeling herself for the expected attack.

She was not disappointed. A sonic blast to her right and stinger blasts to her left made her sink into the floor, which quickly filled with water as a shower of arrows rained down on her. _This _was more like it.

She slipped on the water and slid towards the Slade bots, which - instead of stepping out of the way - crashed to the floor and fell on top of her. Something exploded the bots around her, raining shrapnel down on her. Instead of simply twisting out of the way, she put her hands over her head and let it rain down.

When she looked up to see four angry faces staring down at her, she simply smirked, "I see zat you are not to be underestimated." With that, she melted away, letting the Slade bots fight her battle. The Titans would not be distracted for long, but after all, she only needed a moment . . . .

...

"Hey! Grayson!"

With Terra hanging tightly to his arm, he turned to see his old friend, Josh. "Bronson!" he shouted back - they'd always called each other by their last names; they played on the middle school basketball team together.

"Long time no see, man!" Josh grinned, his long, brown hair flying past his ears as he ran in for a high-five. He stepped back to survey the quiet beauty on his old friend's arm. With a low, appreciate whistle, he added, "And for good reason, I see."

Dick grinned, "Bronson, this is Kory. I'm sure you've read in the tabloids; we've been dating for a while now."

"Yeah, since before you left, I hear," Josh smirked. "What's the matter, cutie, didn't find anybody better?"

Wide-eyed, "Kory" shook her head, "Dick and I have something real together; I could never leave him."

Obviously trying not to laugh, Josh whispered, "Lucky dog. How come you're always the one to score the ladies?"

"Animal magnetism," he laughed.

"Hey! Grayson!"

Dick turned to see another high school friend waving at him from across the room. "Sorry to leave you hanging, Bronson, but it looks like Avery's got something he wants to say."

"Be careful. I'd bet my dad's fortune he's only after your girl," Josh chuckled.

"I'll remember that; thanks." As they crossed the room, he whispered, "You holding up okay?"

He didn't know why he'd been expecting Terra's voice to come out when it was just the two of them talking, but the voice modulator did its job as she whispered, "Okay. And you?"

"Getting sick of seeing old friends, actually," he admitted - which was only half true. His nerves were shot; he kept waiting for Slade to crash the party, and it was hard to enjoy these familiar faces with that on his mind.

"Happy birthday, Grayson!" James Avery laughed, shoving his present into Dick's chest so that he had to take it with both hands - leaving Terra temporarily unguarded.

Avery seized the opportunity. "Kory, isn't it? Grayson show you the _real _sights around Gotham?"

"Umm," Terra said, biting her lip and glancing over her shoulder at him.

"She's not interested," he said in a flash, setting the present who-knows-where as he offered Terra his arm with what he hoped was both a winning smile and a territorial sneer to Avery.

"Never could share, could you?" Avery shrugged, still grinning. "Some things never change."

"Never could get your own girl, could you?" he shot back, also grinning.

"Hey, boys, mind if I cut into your macho displays?" Barbara asked with a wink as she cut in.

He wasn't usually thrilled to see her, but there was a first time for everything, right? "Thanks for the save," he breathed.

"Our little Kory looked a little nervous, so I figured I'd help out," she shrugged.

"Right, and whatever happened to me was none of your business?" he laughed.

"Something like that."

"I take back the thanks, then."

"What a shame. And for the slightest second there, I thought chivalry wasn't dead."

"Only where you're concerned."

"Chivalry doesn't make exceptions."

"I didn't say chivalry was alive and well, just not dead."

"What'd you do, mutilate it?"

"Something like that."

"Any chance of survival?"

"Oh, it should make a full recovery."

"When?"

"About the same time you leave," he smirked.

"You two realize I'm still here, right?" Terra squeaked. Dick jumped, not because she surprised him, but because the idea of Starfire's voice being that high and squeaky didn't quite mesh in his head.

"No, we completely forgot you exist," Barbara laughed - she was obviously being sarcastic, but he wasn't sure Terra knew that. "How ya' holding up?"

Terra shrugged, "Not bad. Everyone's staring at me, though."

"And the party just started," Barbara smirked before she left them standing alone again with a mischievous wink.

"I'm not sure whether to thank her or slap her across the face," Terra muttered under her breath.

He laughed, "She does that to people." Of course, that was exactly what he'd needed, something to relieve the pressure, to take his mind off of the growing feeling of impending doom. Babs had always been good at that . . . .

...

"Jinx?"

She groaned. This was her least favorite part of being knocked out. The waking up part.

"Jinx?"

Any minute now, she'd regain feeling in her arms only to feel handcuffs against her wrist.

"_Jinx_?"

She really didn't want to talk to the police questioner, thank you very much. She'd rather just stay here with her eyes closed. Unconsciousness was so much nicer . . . .

"JINX!"

Her eyes opened at last to see Raven standing over her, an unconscious Beast Boy draped over her shoulder. She blinked. Raven was missing half her cloak - the other half looked badly singed - and there was a nice little bruise forming just under her chin.

"What happened?" she muttered, because it was the only thing she could think to say. As Raven helped her to her feet, Jinx could see the remains of several Slade bots scattered around them, not to mention a few burned holes in the wall.

"I lost my temper," Raven said simply. It wasn't much of an answer, but Jinx knew when not to pry. Besides, Jinx was a little more concerned with the way Raven swayed a little when she walked - and with the fact that she was _walking_, not levitating.

"I think I overdid it," Raven shrugged. She sounded tired - exhausted, really - and Jinx couldn't help but notice the way she kept putting her hand to her forehead.

"Are you okay?"

Raven blinked, and the two girls stared at each other for a moment, daring the other to speak first. Finally, Raven said, "I'm not really sure. Slade got away, and he hit me with some kind of ray that knocked me out for a second or two while he escaped." She paused, then added bitterly, "I didn't see where he went."

"And what was I doing the whole time?" Jinx asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Inspecting the floor," Raven half-smiled. "It's probably good for everyone you weren't there, though. I don't imagine I was a pretty sight when I woke up fuming."

"So, you were okay after Slade knocked you out?"

"Besides the headache?" Raven smirked as she rubbed her forehead for the umpteenth time.

"Grngh," Beast Boy said, immediately drawing their attention.

"Beast Boy, you okay?" Jinx asked. She felt weird - Raven should have been asking that, but she was too busy rubbing her forehead.

"Grngh."

The door burst open, and four Titans rushed in (along with two unconscious ones.) Cyborg didn't lower his sonic cannon until he saw the girls crowded around Beast Boy; once he saw that the danger had passed, he rushed to his friends side, with the Titans East close behind.

"Is he okay?" Bumblebee asked quietly.

Almost in answer, Beast Boy bolted upright. "Robin!" he shouted, eyes wide and frantic.

Surprised into silence, the other Titans could only stare at their friend, eyes wide. He stared frantically back at them, demanding an answer to a question he hadn't asked. Finally, Jinx ventured, "What about him?"

"It's a trick; Slade's not really in Gotham. The whole plot's a distraction!" Beast Boy blurted out. (Jinx couldn't help but feel amazed that he hadn't thanked anyone for saving him yet. These heroes and their inability to think of themselves . . . . It was a trait she hadn't quite mastered yet, and she could see from recent events that she still had a long way to go.)

"A distraction?" Speedy repeated, and his mask conformed to his facial features so that one half enlarged, indicating a raised eyebrow.

"We thought _you _were the distraction," Aqualad added.

"But I can't be," Beast Boy said. "I mean, I'm not. I'm right here, right?"

Jinx sat back on her heels, her mind racing. What did this mean? Beast Boy was safe, and Robin's dilemma was supposedly just a distraction, so why did she still have the sinking feeling they were losing?

"I don't get it," she said at last. "What was Slade's _real _plan?"

Raven rubbed her forehead.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: This is the last chapter of Reversibility. The next one, Vulnerability, is in the works. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Teen Titans or the DC Universe. (No matter how much I wish I did.)

Chapter 21

She clung stupidly to his arm because, frankly, she couldn't think of anything else to do. After days of rehearsal, of going over everything she needed to say, she could only hold on for dear life and hope she didn't blow it. This was way more terrifying than facing bad guys - this was facing the press.

They hadn't been invited to the party, either - which, of course, only made them more curious than they were before. They were flesh eaters, devouring everything and everyone in their path to getting the next Pulitzer Prize, or at least being the most recognized journalist in Gotham - sometimes they were one and the same.

The scariest was this short little man with sideburns and pretty much no other hair on his head. He had this turned up little nose that looked like it might go up into his eyes if he sniffed too hard. He had one hand on his notepad and the other on his pencil - which he'd stuck up behind his ear, so it looked like he was constantly scratching some kind of itch. The cameraman behind him looked almost as scary; Terra deeply suspected he'd been in the Mafia before being a cameraman - actually, scratch that; he was probably still in the Mafia.

Of course, Dick was brilliant. He spotted the press sneaking into the open door and crossed the room in the blink of an eye - while she hung on, wondering how he could walk so fast and drag her along with him at the same time. Once he reached the leak, he looked up at the guard, who shrugged apologetically and gestured wordlessly at the long line of guests still coming through to get their time in the limelight. Then, Dick turned his glare - which could, Terra decided, melt metal and maybe even diamonds - towards the reporters and their crews. "I don't remember sending any of you invitations," he said coldly. It was strange; he sounded more like Robin when he did that, but he still managed to sneak that carefree tone into his voice . . . . How did he do it?

"Tell the truth, Dick; do you remember sending half of these invitations, or did Bruce do that?" asked one of the few reporters who actually looked like a person - a little blonde girl with a surprisingly cute cameraman.

To Terra's surprised, the glare melted off Dick's face as he laughed, "That's true. I swear, more of these are Bruce's friends than mine, but what can you do? His friends like to party."

"I hear that," nodded a tall cameraman in the back, earning a few chuckles.

"So, are you going to tell us where you've been for the last two years?"

Terra winced; she'd been waiting for that question, and she knew he'd been waiting for it, too. But he hid his disappointment much better than she did; he simply shrugged and said, "I thought it would've been obvious. Kory and I have been . . . sightseeing." With that, he shot her an appreciative little grin, only it wasn't directed at her face. She shifted uncomfortably, but the press just laughed at her reaction and Dick's obvious . . . disregard for social mores.

"So, why'd you come back?"

He shrugged, "When articles start speculating that I've been abducted by aliens," - here, he shot a particularly nasty glare towards the shortest redhead - "I draw the line." (The redhead smiled apologetically and mouthed a word suspiciously like "ratings.")

"I didn't mean to cause him any trouble," Terra muttered.

He just continued on as if he hadn't heard her, "Yeah, we probably didn't think it through. I guess disappearing off the face of the planet with your girl only works if you're not in the public eye, right?" He shrugged, "But I'm here, you can clearly see I haven't been abducted, and if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to the guests who were actually invited so I can get this party over with and go back to travelling the world with Kory, 'kay?"

It was such a sudden end, spoken with so much force and with something close to a challenge that begged the listeners to defy him just to see what would happen, that no one dared say anything until he left. (Though Terra could hear the reporters excitedly whispering into their tapes - only because she was paying attention to them out of the irrational-and-yet-very-rational fear that some of them were ex-Mafia.) It was something close to miraculous, the way he could laugh and joke with them and yet turn around to terrify them into silence again.

Then came the surprise - the one, lone reporter, still standing there. She had to admire his guts, but she couldn't help wondering what he wanted.

"You're one smooth talker, Grayson," said the lone reporter with a hint of a smile. Something about him seemed . . . familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. "But you still haven't told us the real reason why: what's with all the secrecy? Why'd you tell everyone you were still at school?"

Dick paused, his eyes narrowed. If she hadn't been so close to him, she might never have noticed the way every muscle in his body tensed up, the way his breathing quickened, the way the crease of his suit's elbow suddenly dampened with sweat.

But an onlooker never would have been able to tell. He turned with his crooked smile and his head half-cocked to the side. "Because love shacking isn't as much fun with the press around," he said simply.

One eye blinked as the reporter stared at him. Dick held his gaze, chin held high, but Terra could feel the wet spot in the crease of his elbow growing. After a while, the reporter jerked his head, clearly indicating that he wanted to talk to Dick alone.

"Don't wait up," he muttered in her ear, letting go of her arm as he followed. She noticed, as he did, that he pushed the little receiver button on his belt.

...

Her belt buckle glowed, and she glanced down at it. "Robin," she said simply. It was both a statement of who sent out the signal and a way of telling Kid Flash, in Robin-guise, it was time to move without giving them away.

"I'm on it," Kid Flash said, turning the R-cycle around. It was strange, she reflected, to sit on the back of this particular motorcycle with her arms around this particular Robin. The whole thing felt wrong. It was an older version of the R-cycle, for one thing, and a different kind of Robin for another.

"This particular cycle does not have the speed Robin's does," she whispered.

"You think he'd let me drive the real thing?"

"I highly doubt he would do that."

"And that explains everything, doesn't it?"

"Almost everything," she smiled.

They had been circling around for a while, weaving in and out of alleyways and highways, that sort of thing. Every time they passed, Starfire distinctly felt that the populace glared at them - Robin said something about the fickle public and the way they said they supported Batman but half the streets were filled with people answerable to the mob. It was little wonder he was not as light-hearted as heroes like Kid Flash.

"How long before we reach Wayne Manor?" she asked.

"As much as it pains me to say it, at least another five minutes."

"It pains you to say it?"

The grin on Robin's face was wide and disarming. "If I was myself, we'd have been there five minutes ago."

"The alarm had not even sounded five -"

"Forget it."

...

"It's an impressive charade, I'll give you that."

Robin felt his eyes narrowing but checked himself at the last minute. "What, the party? Yeah, you caught me. I can't stand Bruce's parties. What gave me away?"

"We're in the courtyard."

"Very observant," he shot back. "Don't see what pointing out the obvious has to do with any-"

"Drop the act, Robin. There's no one around to hear us talking."

His fists clenched and unclenched. It wasn't a matter of being overheard, he wanted to scream; it was a matter of the recording device flashing just above the clockface on the watch on Slade's right hand. Anything he said could be used against him. "Sorry, what'd you just call me?" he laughed. "Look, I'm flattered and everything, but -"

It wasn't that the punch caught him off guard; it was that he didn't want to give himself away by blocking it. Dick Grayson couldn't move that quickly.

He rubbed his jaw delicately. "Well," he grunted, pushing himself up against the nearest hedge, "I'd say I didn't expect that, but I'd be lying. Robin said you might come calling." He looked up to search the skies as well. "He also said he'd be here by now."

"Cute," Slade grunted. "But it's not going to work."

Robin saw _that _punch coming, too.

...

"Something's going on out in the courtyard."

Barbara looked up from her conversation with a little blonde reporter - in the middle of a very convincing story of her jealousy over Kory and the way she'd practically driven Dick out of the city, she might add - to see a few people looking out the window. From three floors up, they could only see what the tall hedges did not obscure, but it didn't look pretty.

"Who invited that guy?" one of the reporters asked.

"Think he's being held up for money?"

"Kidnapping attempt?"

"Has anyone called the police?"

"Where's Bruce Wayne?"

Bruce was at the window in a manner of minutes, pushing the people away so he could see. Only the whitening of his knuckles as he tightened them gave away his distress. But then he turned to face the people gathered around and said with the most solemn tone anyone had ever heard out of Bruce Wayne: "I think it'd be best if everyone got out of here."

They didn't need telling twice. Half the people there got on their cell phones, the other half just split for the door. Even the reporters didn't want to be part of funny business; they'd stay up in the third floor and just watch, thank you very much.

She was at Bruce's side in a matter of seconds. "What'd you tell the press?" she asked.

"That I was going to get the police. You?"

"I don't think they ask jealous ex-girlfriends what they do when the object of their jealousy is getting the mickey taken out of him."

"Point taken."

She glanced out of the nearest window as they passed to see Starfire flying over the hedges to the scene, with the R-cycle parked just outside. "Our friends are here," she said.

"Let's just hope this plan works."

"It'll at least discredit him if he tries to tell anyone in the criminal community."

"Even if he knows it's a hoax."

"It's only one person." she said in her best attempt at sounding reassuring.

She wasn't so sure she liked being glared at like that.

...

There was a way to take punches that didn't require taking the full force of the blows. He didn't have to defend himself outwardly, but he could see the blows coming and position himself accordingly so they would do the least damage. Of course, when the "least damage" areas were being hit over and over, they started doing more damage anyway.

And he'd managed to land a couple blows, too. After all, Dick Grayson had been on a few teams in high school, and he was athletic. It was conceivable he could do some collateral damage given enough chances in a fight with an archvillain. Just enough to tear sleves, knock off a hat, and maybe a satisfying kick in the shins. He was trying to "accidentally" hit the recording device on Slade's wrist; it wouldn't even the odds in the fight, since the reporters were definitely watching from the third floor by now, but it would make conversation possible. And there was a lot he wanted - no, needed - to say.

He recoiled from another punch, kicked Slade in the shins, then scooted away from the hedge, hoping to get a better position outside of the reporters' line of sight. Before he could maneuver, though, a flash of green light hit Slade across the face, knocking loose the plastic covering to reveal the usual orange and black mask.

"Hey, cutie, nice timing," he grinned, wiping the spittle and - was that blood? - from the corner of his mouth.

Starfire looked a little . . . well, the closest thing was "shocked" . . . at the term "cutie" coming out of his mouth. But she recovered nicely and helped him to his feet. "Robin and I overheard the police report as we were patrolling the area," she explained.

One eye blinked as Slade looked Starfire over. He could see "Kory" standing in the window, but he could also see Starfire standing in front of him. And since starbolts weren't easily reproduced . . . . "Clever, Robin," he said - but he wasn't talking to the Kid Flash-Robin standing on the breezeway.

"Sorry I took so long, Dick," the replacement Robin grinned. "I figured he'd show up here, but I didn't want to make a scene."

"Thought you said you'd look out for me," he said. It was weird talking to himself - it felt close to insane.

"Believe it or not, I was," the replacement Robin said.

The fight started earlier than he'd expected - probably because Kid Flash was faster, even with the anti-gravitational belt on. It was hard to sit back and just watch a fight unfold, especially against Slade. Every muscle in his body itched for action, but the only thing he could do to satisfy his instincts was another satisfying kick in the shins and a "poorly placed" punch that actually served to break the recording device in half.

This fight was going too easily.

Were those police sirens?

Those two thoughts ran through his mind simultaneously, culminating in the sudden realization that there was a gloved hand picking him up by his lapels and slamming him against the hedge. And there was a masked face dangerously close to his own and a strange empty feeling in his lungs that came with the territory of getting the wind knocked out of him.

"Clever, Robin," said the voice in his ear. His feet weren't touching the ground. "The reporters will have evidence that you clearly aren't Dick Grayson, so my reporting it to the criminal community won't work."

"That's the general idea, yes," he spluttered. He could see Starfire and Kid Flash standing off to the side, unsure what to do. If they tried to help, they might only make things worse for him. The Gotham police were just around the corner, but they wouldn't do anything with him in this state. From their point of view, it was a potential hostage situation.

"There's just one problem with your plan, Robin," Slade said. "You see, I went to all the trouble of thawing the Brotherhood of Evil, and I'm afraid _they _will believe me."

"And how will they react when they find out about your son the superhero?" he managed to gasp.

Was it Robin's imagination, or did Slade just pause? But it couldn't be; Slade was never phased by anything. Then again, if anything could phase him, it would be this. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Slade finally said, "I wondered when you'd figure it out, with the combined talents of the Dark Knight and yourself."

Robin felt his feet his the ground, but there was still a gloved hand clutching his lapels. He kept his head back, as far away from the fist as possible, very much aware of the police watching from a distance with their guns raised, waiting for an opening. The Batmobile was parked outside, too. The whole gang was there.

"Of course," Slade said, "it wouldn't change much of anything if the Brotherhood knew. A past as a contract killer isn't necessarily looked down in my line of work."

He was losing ground, and he knew it. All their plans were falling apart; they hadn't banked on the Brotherhood of Evil. They could convince everyone else, but the Brain wouldn't be fooled. He glanced over at Starfire, whose eyes shone with fear.

"I'll cut you a deal, Slade," he said suddenly, too quietly for anyone else to hear. "I'll quit."

Slade jerked his head back to look him in the eyes, slamming him up against the hedge so that some free branches tore the sleeve of his suit. "My, Robin, that's a generous offer."

"I'll quit. I won't be Robin anymore," he said. He could feel his breathing growing more rapid, but the plan forming in the back of his mind kept rolling on its own. "You have to swear you won't reveal my secret in return."

The seconds felt like hours, and he tried to ignore the horrified stares from Kid Flash and Starfire. Finally, Slade said, "Just like that?"

"I'll hang up my cape tonight."

Slade's deep laugh started somewhere in the back of his throat and tore through his stomach. He stepped back, releasing Robin's lapels. Then, he reached up to remove his mask - only to show a television screen with the real Slade on the other side. And a countdown. From behind the number nine, Slade said, "Good boy, Robin."

Robin could feel his teeth grinding. "Slade," he growled.

"Don't worry, my boy; I'll keep my word. All records of this conversation will be destroyed, of course, and I won't tell a soul."

"I doubt that."

"I might keep a copy in case Robin decides to show his face in Jump City again," said the voice behind the number three.

"I figured," he grunted, then ducked out of the way before the explosion.

...

"You're sure you're okay?"

"Just winded, Commissioner," he said, despite the blood trickling down his chin and the ripped suit.

Barbara hovered beside her father, watching as Commissioner Gordon helped Dick Grayson to his feet. She'd planned to show up and help in the fight as Batgirl, but on a hunch, she'd decided not to. This came in handy when she showed up with Terra, still disguised as Kory, and rushed to the scene - it covered up nicely for Bruce's absence until he could get back.

"And he didn't tell you what he was after?" Commissioner Gordon asked.

"There's no telling with Slade, sir," Kid Flash-Robin piped up. "By all accounts, he should've been in Jump City, not Gotham."

"Do you think he could have followed you here?" Dick asked suddenly.

"Maybe. We've got a long history," Kid Flash-Robin said slowly. "I don't know why he'd go after you, though."

"Perhaps to get our attention," Starfire piped up. (Barbara was impressed; they were winging it at this point, since their plans went awry with Dick's promise to Slade, but Starfire could hold her own. Again, she was struck by how much she'd like to be Starfire's friend if she wasn't a third wheel.)

"And people wonder why I left Gotham," Dick said with a dry laugh.

"Come on, Star, we'd better get back to Jump City. Slade's probably still there; he only sent a robot after us," Kid Flash-Robin said.

"I can only hope we figure out Slade's real plan," Starfire nodded. With that, they were gone, off to the R-cycle and to hide out in the Batcave.

"Did he say anything to you?" Commissioner Gordon pressed, ignoring the leaving superheroes. At this point, Terra crossed the courtyard to put a steadying arm around him.

"He mostly just pushed me around and threatened me a bit. And then Robin and Starfire showed up and he shouted some stuff at them that I don't understand."

"What did he say?"

"Something about an evil brotherhood or something. I wasn't really paying attention; I was more concerned about being able to breathe, you know," Dick shrugged. He looked up and his eyes widened. "Bruce?"

"Dick, you okay?" Bruce asked, crossing the courtyard faster than anyone else.

"A little roughed up," he admitted.

"Here, let's get you inside," Bruce said. "Why doesn't everyone clear off?" he shouted at the various reporters and policemen as he put his arm around Dick's shoulder and helped him in. It was probably the kindest gesture she'd seen between Bruce and Dick in years.

...

"You'll _quit_?"

"You're welcome!"

"You couldn't think of anything else?"

"I know what I'm doing, okay Bruce?"

Starfire glanced nervously over at Terra, who was pretending not to hear the argument by reading the recently printed online article about the playboy Dick Grayson and his embarassment to the Wayne name, that sort of thing.

"I think I know why he went solo," Kid Flash muttered as he sat down next to Terra and started reading the article over her shoulder.

"You think?" Terra muttered in return.

"So you're just going to give up on everything I trained you for?"

"You know I wouldn't do that!"

"So, what, you'll join the Gotham P.D?"

"You don't think he's really going to do it, do you?" Terra whispered over the voices coming from the other room.

"Quit? No way. Not Robin," Kid Flash shook his head.

"He would if his family was in danger," Batgirl pointed out, staring intently at her shoes. "Bruce is like a father to him."

"He's sure got a funny way of showing it," Kid Flash muttered.

"And what was I supposed to do, Bruce? Let him run all over us with our identities?"

Starfire grimaced but said nothing. She knew Robin had a plan; she just could not see it yet. Instead, she simply listened as Terra said, "So, now what are we going to do?"

Kid Flash shrugged, "Jinx says Beast Boy's safe now. Raven sort of exhausted herself, but she should be fine. And it looks like Batman and Robin's secret identities are safe, too."

"So, did we win?" Terra asked.

"I don't think you get it, Bruce. I've quit!"

The four heroes glanced at each other, then down at the ground. No, this definitely didn't feel like winning.


End file.
